Department for Transport

Transport: Skilled Workers

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received from the road haulage sector and hauliers on the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy.

Andrew Jones: The department has regular meetings with the road haulage sector trade bodies and hauliers on a wide variety of issues, including skills, at both Ministerial and official level. These have not focussed specifically on the Transport Infrastructure Skills Strategy, which addresses the technical, engineering and construction skills needed to deliver the department’s unprecedented infrastructure investment. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has recently approved the Logistics Trailblazer Apprenticeship Standard and the department will be working with colleagues to support the industry in rolling out this apprenticeship.

Cycling: Safety

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which particular measures his Department has included in its Road Safety Statement of 21 December 2015 to help reduce the number of cyclists killed and injured every year.

Andrew Jones: The government has a manifesto commitment to reduce the number of cyclists and other road users killed or injured on our roads every year and we published our British Road Safety Statement, setting out our priorities in achieving that goal on 21 December 2015. The Statement describes a series of actions to be undertaken across government over the short, medium and long term. Several of these contribute specifically to cyclist safety, including: Continue with £50 million investment to deliver Bikeability training in schools, providing the next generation of cyclists with the skills and confidence to cycle safely on local roadsConsult on dangerous in-car mobile phone use with a view to increasing penalties for offendersConsult on legislative changes on HGV sideguardsEncourage development and implementation of improved HGV designDevelop and test new Hazard Perception Test materials to improve learner drivers’ awareness of developing hazards in varying weather and lighting conditions, and broaden the scope of scenarios providing experience of real life situations such as encountering vulnerable road usersOur commitment to produce a Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy setting out our objectives, activities and funding available for cycling and walking in England in the long term. The Strategy will be published in the summer and will include details of how the £300m committed in the recent Spending Review will be invested to support cycling and walking.

Driving under Influence: Scotland

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with his counterpart in the Scottish Government on the results of that government's lowering of drink-drive limits; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones: I am intending to discuss with the Scottish Minister about the experience of the lower limit in Scotland and about the timescales to get access to robust evidence of the road safety impact. It is important to base our decisions on evidence and the Scottish experience will be crucial to that before we consider any possible changes to the limits in England and Wales. This Government’s current position however remains to focus resources on enforcing against the most serious offenders.

Shipping: Crew

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to ensure that his Department's annual seafarer statistics include forecasts of future numbers of UK seafarers.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The invitation to tender for the Seafarer Projections Review was sent out by the Crown Commercial Service on Tuesday 19 January 2016 and the closing date for bids is Tuesday 1 March 2016. Part of the ITT specified that the research should include a model and projections for seafarers over the next decade. We will draw upon this research when developing our own projections. Subject to the tender process, it is our intention to publish this work when it is complete. In Seafarer Statistics 2015, published on 27 January 2016, it was mentioned that in 2016, the department will be undertaking a user engagement exercise to find out more about how the Seafarer Statistics are used and to collate views on the methodology. The aim of this will be to identify any opportunity for methodological improvements and ensure that the statistics continue to be fit for purpose. The inclusion of projections within this annual publication will be considered as part of this review. I refer the honourable Member to my response to the Hon Member for Easington (Graeme Morris) on 27 January 2016 http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&uin=23191; and to my answers to the Hon Member 24914 https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/31981 and 24917 https://wqa.parliament.uk/Questions/Details/31978.

Shipping: Migrant Workers

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment his Department has made of the extent of the practice of nationality-based pay discrimination against non-EEA seafarers employed on (a) UK and (b) non-UK registered vessels working from UK ports.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The department is currently seeking evidence on possible cases of discrimination, including on pay discrimination, through the Post Implementation Review of the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 which is due to complete in autumn 2016.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24371, how many Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) staff carried out complete checks on vessels working in all sulphur dioxide emission control areas contiguous with the UK coastline in 2015; and how many MCA staff will carry out this work in 2016.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) Marine Surveyors carry out a full range of Port State Control (PSC) and inspection tasks including assessment of compliance with environmental requirements such as the use of low sulphur fuel forming part of their normal duties. Surveyor resources are not dedicated to specific tasks and inspections will consider a range of safety and environmental issues so it is not possible to disaggregate staff numbers on this specific issue. In 2015, there were 74 qualified and accredited MCA Marine Surveyors carrying out PSC inspection activity, including that related to sulphur compliance across the UK. In 2016, there are 64 qualified and accredited MCA Marine Surveyors who have been supplemented by a further 30 trained sulphur inspectors.

Shipping: Exhaust Emissions

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24371, for what reasons there are no figures for the number of compliance checks the Maritime and Coastguard Agency carried out on vessels in the North Sea sulphur dioxide emission control area in 2015.

Mr Robert Goodwill: Further to my answer of 29 January, the data provided refers to the specific fuel sampling and testing regime put into place by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in order to support compliance activity relating to the use of low sulphur fuel by ships. This sampling activity started on 1 January 2016 in line with a Europe-wide decision. This sampling is supplementary to the normal Port State Control activity that is performed by MCA Marine Surveyors, the scope of which includes consideration of compliance with air pollution requirements. In 2015 the MCA carried out 1068 inspections under Port State Control which includes the examination of documentation related to compliance with the North Sea sulphur emissions control area.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Home Ownership Incentive Schemes

Graham Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many homeowners have accessed (a) Help to Buy and (b) Right to Buy.

Brandon Lewis: Up to September 2015, over 128,000 homes had been purchased with assistance of Help to Buy Equity and Mortgage Guarantee Loans.Since 2010/11, over 53,000 thousand tenants have purchased their homes through Right to Buy (and preserved Right to Buy for housing association tenants). The voluntary scheme extending to housing associations will give 1.3 million more families the opportunity to do this.The Department publishes statistics on Help to Buy and Right to Buy at:https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-communities-and-local-government/about/statistics

Non-domestic Rates: Copeland

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on Copeland Borough Council's spending power of reforms to business rates announced in the Summer Budget 2015.

Mr Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will make it his policy that business rates generated by new nuclear development in Copeland will be retained by the billing authority.

Mr Marcus Jones: The Government has announced reforms to the business rates retention scheme which mean that, by the end of this Parliament, local government will keep 100% of locally raised business rates and 100% of the growth generated by new development. Over the coming months we will be working with local government on the details of the scheme.Ahead of final decisions, it is too early to assess what the impact of the reforms will be on individual areas' spending power.

Social Services

Dr Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on the effectiveness of adult social care in facilitating an efficient return to the community after hospital treatment.

Mr Marcus Jones: I meet regularly with colleagues at the Department of Health, including discussions about the £5.3 billion Better Care Fund, which has a key role in helping people get home quickly after they have been in hospital.

Local Government: Income Tax

Mr Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what discussions he has had with his Cabinet colleagues on income tax assignment to local government in England; and if he will make a statement.

Greg Clark: The Government is committed to giving local areas more control over their own resources. By 2020, local government will retain 100 per cent of business rates revenue, up from 50 per cent now.

Housing: Construction

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department is taking to support smaller building firms in building high-quality new homes.

Brandon Lewis: We have put in place a number of initiatives to help smaller builders to build more homes and grow their businesses including the Housing Growth Fund and Builders’ Finance Fund. A new £1 billion short-term housing development fund, announced at Autumn Statement, will be launched in the Spring.

Homelessness

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what steps his Department has taken to tackle homelessness.

Mr Marcus Jones: This Government is clear one person without a home is one too many. Despite the need to take tough financial decisions we have increased central funding for homelessness programmes to £139 million over the Parliament.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Yemen: Human Rights

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the human rights situation in Yemen.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We continue to remain deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Yemen. The UK supported a UN Human Rights Council resolution in October 2015, which called on the UN to provide technical assistance to the Government of Yemen, assist the Yemeni National Independent Commission of Inquiry, and report back to the next session of the Human Rights Council. We continue to raise the importance of respect for human rights with all sides to the conflict.

Syria: Peace Negotiations

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Syrian opposition to encourage their participation in the Geneva peace talks; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are in regular contact with the Syrian opposition. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Riad Hijab, Chair of the Syrian Higher Negotiations Commission (HNC) on 29 January, expressing his support for the HNC and highlighting the importance of their participation in negotiations. Our Special Envoy for Syria and his team are currently in Geneva alongside other international partners, supporting the opposition and engaging with the UN.

Commonwealth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role the Garter King of Arms and the College of Arms have in the formulation of policy and practice on the rules and regulations governing the use, style and designation accorded to UK nationals and UK dual nationals of the Queen's Commonwealth realms.

James Duddridge: The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative.

Diplomatic Service

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, which serving ambassadors or high commissioners accredited to the Court of St James also hold UK citizenship or nationality; and what policy on the accreditation of such UK citizens or dual citizens as envoys of Commonwealth or foreign states.

James Duddridge: Details of serving Ambassadors or High Commissioners accredited to the Court of St James who may hold UK citizenship or nationality as well as the citizenship or nationality of their sending States are protected under the Data Protection Act. Dual nationals may not hold positions as heads of diplomatic missions in the UK unless they are High Commissioners or the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland. The Diplomatic Privileges (British Nationals) Order 1999 (1999 No 670) allows High Commissioners and the Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland, who may also simultaneously hold UK citizenship, to enjoy privileges and immunities as if they were nationals only of their sending State.

Commonwealth

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what role his Department has played in advising the Sovereign on the UK's position on the future use, style and designation accorded to UK nationals of British dual nationals of the Queen's Commonwealth realms; and what changes there have been to established practice in the last two years.

James Duddridge: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 18 January 2016 (PQ 22935). The recognition of foreign honours is a matter for the Royal Prerogative.

Iran: Armed Forces

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assurances he has sought that the lifting of international sanctions on Iran will not result in an increase in overseas operations by Iran's Quds Force; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Sanctions related to Iran’s human rights record and support for terrorism – including those on Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) members and entities sanctioned for these reasons – are not affected by the nuclear deal. They remain in place and will continue to be enforced. The IRGC, which includes the Quds Force, is still a sanctioned entity. The lifting of financial and economic sanctions represents a real opportunity for Iranians to make positive decisions about their country's future and its role in the region.

Libya: Politics and Government

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps the Government is taking to support the House of Representatives in Libya, Tobruk and General Haftar to take over the running of the state of Libya.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK strongly supports the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed at Skhirat on 17 December by the majority of the Libyan delegates to the UN facilitated political dialogue, and by a wide range of representatives of Libyan society, municipal leaders and political parties. The Agreement paves the way for a Government of National Accord (GNA) and was unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council Resolution 2259. The House of Representatives, which endorsed the agreement with some reservations on 25 January, has a key role under the LPA. To ensure a lasting peace in Libya, we urge all parties to quickly take the necessary steps outlined in the Agreement, including the agreement of key leadership positions, to create a Government of National Accord based in Tripoli. Only a unified national government can begin the difficult work of establishing effective, legitimate governance, restoring stability and tackling the threat posed by Daesh.

Egypt: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Egypt on the imprisonment of Mohammed Hegazy in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are concerned about the case of Bishoy Armia Boulous, formerly Mohammed Hegazy, who was arrested in December 2013 and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in June 2014 for ‘disturbing the peace by broadcasting false information’ after filming clashes between Muslims and Christians in Upper Egypt. We are aware of his continued imprisonment and reports that his treatment whilst in prison has been in breach of his human rights. We have raised his case with the Egyptian Embassy in London and will continue to raise concerns about such cases with the Egyptian authorities.

Egypt: Religious Freedom

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to the government of Egypt on the convictions of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot in that country for contempt of religion.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: We are aware of the cases of Islam al-Beheiry and Fatima Naaot and are following both cases closely. We have raised the importance of freedom of religious belief and freedom of expression with the Egyptian authorities on a number of occasions and will continue to do so.We deplore all discrimination against religious minorities and constraints on their freedom to practise their faith. The Government of Egypt has clearly stated its commitment to protecting the rights of minorities and of the need for religious tolerance; it is important that these rights are respected.In November 2015, My Rt Hon and noble Friend, the Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Baroness Anelay and I met Non-Governmental Organisations to consider what more could be done to help Christians and other persecuted minorities in the Middle East. I also met with the Secretary for Relations with States within the Holy See's Secretariat of State to discuss this. In December the UK, in partnership with the Egyptian Grand Imam, launched a new scholarship for Al-Azhar graduates to pursue doctoral studies at British universities. The scholarship aims to promote mutual understanding among a new generation of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office raised the alleged breaches of international humanitarian law outlined in the final report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen with the Saudi Arabian government during his recent visit to Rome.

Mr Philip Hammond: We regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) with the Saudi Arabian government and other members of the military coalition. The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my hon Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Mr Ellwood), raised this issue of IHL compliance on 4 February with the Saudi Ambassador in London. The Saudi Arabian government has its own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January.

Yemen: Military Intervention

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he raised the alleged breaches of international humanitarian law outlined in the final report of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen with the Saudi Arabian government during his recent visit to Rome.

Mr Philip Hammond: We regularly raise the importance of compliance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL) with the Saudi government and other members of the military coalition. I raised the issue of IHL compliance on my recent trip to Rome where I had a bilateral meeting with my Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel Al-Jubeir. The Saudis have their own internal procedures for investigations and they announced more detail of how they investigate such incidents on 31 January.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Defibrillators

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many defibrillators are provided in each building his Department manages.

Joseph Johnson: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 01 February 2016.The correct answer should have been:

The provision of defibrillators in Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) buildings managed by BIS (i.e. BIS is the landlord and in control of the building), is as set out in the table below: BIS - 1 Victoria Street London - 3BIS - 10 Victoria Street London - 4BIS - 151 Buckingham Palace Road - 3BIS - Atholl House Aberdeen - 2BIS - Abbey Orchard Street London – 0 (Insolvency Service moving to Fleetbank House within 3-4 months) 1 being acquiredBIS - Fleetbank House – 1 being acquiredBIS - Nottingham (Apex Court) - 1 Whilst BIS is the landlord for the buildings listed above, where sub-letting arrangements are in place, the occupiers take responsibility for their own provision of defibrillators, and these are not included in this list.

Joseph Johnson: The provision of defibrillators in Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) buildings managed by BIS (i.e. BIS is the landlord and in control of the building), is as set out in the table below: BIS - 1 Victoria Street London - 3BIS - 10 Victoria Street London - 4BIS - 151 Buckingham Palace Road - 3BIS - Atholl House Aberdeen - 2BIS - Abbey Orchard Street London – 0 (Insolvency Service moving to Fleetbank House within 3-4 months) 1 being acquiredBIS - Fleetbank House – 1 being acquiredBIS - Nottingham (Apex Court) - 1 Whilst BIS is the landlord for the buildings listed above, where sub-letting arrangements are in place, the occupiers take responsibility for their own provision of defibrillators, and these are not included in this list.

Catering: Immigration

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on amending immigration rules to support the curry industry.

Anna Soubry: My Rt hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has regular discussions with the Home Secretary on a wide variety of issues.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills: Meetings

Yvonne Fovargue: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many meetings Ministers have had with representatives of Keep me Posted since May 2015.

George Freeman: Details of Ministers’ meetings with external organisations are published quarterly on the Gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills&publication_type=transparency-data

Apprenticeship Delivery Board: Parliamentary Scrutiny

Peter Kyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to provide regular updates to Parliament on the work of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board.

Nick Boles: Updates on the activities and achievements of the Apprenticeship Delivery Board will be posted on Gov.uk. More broadly, subject to Parliamentary approval, the Welfare Reform and Work Bill places a new duty on Government to report annually on progress towards meeting 3 million apprenticeships starts in England by 2020. This report will reconfirm Government’s commitment to that policy ambition, as well as ensuring transparency on progress.

Apprentices: Taxation

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what discussions he has had with the (a) Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and (b) Chancellor of the Exchequer on how the Apprenticeship Levy will operate in combined authorities to whom powers over skills and training are devolved.

Nick Boles: Apprenticeship funding is not devolved and we have no plans to do so.

Overseas Trade: Bangladesh

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what plans he has to organise a high-level trade mission to Bangladesh.

Anna Soubry: Over one hundred UK companies already operate in Bangladesh and I would like to see more exporting to the country. Bangladesh has taken impressive economic strides over the past decade leading to increased opportunities for UK and Bangladeshi companies to work meaningfully together for the benefit of both economies. We are currently exploring a visit to Bangladesh in the coming months by my noble friend, Lord Maude of Horsham, including the possibility of an accompanying trade delegation

Green Investment Bank: Privatisation

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the effect of the market conditions affecting the Government's decision to postpone the privatisation of Lloyds Bank on the proposed privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry: Decisions about these separate matters will be taken on their individual merits. Further information on the Government’s proposals for a sale of the Green Investment Bank (GIB) is provided in our November 2015 policy statement on the future of GIB and in the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on the future of GIB. Both documents can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

Oil: Prices

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what financial assistance is available to UK businesses in the oil industry supply chain who face financial difficulties resulting from the reduction in the price of oil.

Anna Soubry: The Government has taken steps to help reinvigorate the supply chain by stimulating more investment opportunities in the UK Continental Shelf through a £1.3bn package of tax cutting measures and £20m of new funding for a second round of seismic surveys, announced at the end of January 2016.The government has taken forward the rapid implementation of the Wood Review and the Oil and Gas Fiscal Review, establishing the Oil and Gas Authority, and in recognition of the current economic pressures hitting the industry, has established a cross-government, Ministerial oil support group. This will look at issues such as how to support the supply chain and workers through this difficult period.UKTI also continue to work with supply chain companies to access overseas opportunities in countries including Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan and Mexico.

Environment Protection: Investment

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much public sector funding was spent on facilitating higher risk green investment in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the likely spend of this type in each of the next five years.

Anna Soubry: Government funding for green innovation is provided for private sector led technology R&D through grants, procurement approaches and to a lesser extent equity interventions. Additionally, DECC, Research Councils and InnovateUK are involved in European programmes that can leverage significant funding from the EC while ensuring cross border collaboration.Government spent ~£1.3billion on low carbon innovation for the period 2011-15. In addition, the Low Carbon Networks Fund which is funded by network operators is expected to allocate ~£440m over the period 2010-15. See table 1 attached:Separately, the British Business Bank has three main programmes for supporting early stage technology investment, including in the clean technology area: the Enterprise Capital Funds targeted at early stage venture capital investment; the UK Innovation Investment Fund (UKIIF) which supports creation of viable investment funds targeting UK high growth technology-based businesses; and the Venture Capital Catalyst Fund, launched in 2013.As part of the recent Spending Review, it was announced that the department for Energy & Climate Change will double its innovation program to £500 million over the next five years.UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) also invests in innovative green projects, though it does so on fully commercial terms and is focused on technologies ready for deployment at full commercial scale and capable of attracting additional investment from mainstream finance providers. Details of all GIB’s investments to date can be found on the company’s website.



Table 1
(Word Document, 68.23 KB)

Green Investment Bank: Privatisation

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which provisions of the Regulatory Reform Act 2013 need to be removed in order to achieve balance sheet reclassification for the purposes of privatisation of the Green Investment Bank.

Anna Soubry: The Government’s proposals to amend and repeal provisions in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 relating to UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) are contained in clause 30 of the Enterprise Bill. The Government has explained the background to these proposals in paragraphs 62 – 73 of our November 2015 policy statement on the future of GIB which can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website.

Green Investment Bank: Privatisation

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what mechanisms he plans to put in place to measure and monitor (a) value for money for the public purse and (b) the effect on the green economy of a privatised Green Investment Bank; and if he will report regularly to the House on those aspects.

Anna Soubry: Details of why the Government believes moving UK Green Investment Bank plc (GIB) into private ownership represents the best way to enable the company to deliver its ambitious green business plan and have a greater impact on green investment while minimising burdens on the UK taxpayer are provided in our November 2015 policy statement on the future of GIB and are further set out in the Government’s response to the Environmental Audit Committee’s report on the future of GIB which was laid in Parliament on 2 February. Both documents can be found on the GIB pages of the GOV.UK website. The Government has committed to report to Parliament setting out our plans for a sale of GIB and will provide a further report following completion of a transaction and any subsequent transactions.

Students: Loans

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if the Government will postpone the replacement of student maintenance grants with maintenance loans until a sharia-compliant finance product is available for such loans.

Joseph Johnson: Maintenance grants will be replaced by increased maintenance loans for eligible students starting full-time courses in the 2016/17 academic year. The Government supports the introduction of a Sharia-compliant ‘Takaful’ alternative finance product. Subject to Parliament, the Government hopes to introduce the system through new legislation.

British Business Bank

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the returns to the public purse of British Business Bank investments in Funding Circle.

Anna Soubry: British Business Bank’s investment in Funding Circle is one of a portfolio of investments managed by the commercial arm of the bank – British Business Bank Investments Ltd. To date, £60m has been committed to Funding Circle, an amount which has supported over 7,000 businesses. The investment contributes a financial return in line with the performance of the wider portfolio.

Supermarkets

Antoinette Sandbach: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps the Secretary of State is taking to ensure supermarkets are not breaching the industry code of practice by delaying payments to suppliers and demanding extra fees.

Anna Soubry: The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) is responsible for enforcing the Groceries Supply Code of Practice (the Code). The GCA is independent from Government. The current Adjudicator is Christine Tacon. The Government fully supports the GCA. We were very pleased to see the recent report of her investigation into Tesco. The GCA found Tesco had breached the Code by delaying payments to its suppliers and she made recommendations to ensure future compliance with the Code. The GCA’s investigation and report sent a clear message to all supermarkets subject to the Code that she will accept no less than the principle of fair dealing demanded by the Code. It put the industry on notice that any breach of the Code is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

Tata Steel: Wales

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department attended the Welsh Tata Steel Task Force meeting on (i) 20 January and (ii) 1 February 2016.

Anna Soubry: No Ministers from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) attended the meetings of the Welsh Tata Steel Task Force on 20 January and 1 February 2016. However, my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Wales Office (Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth) was present at the meeting on 1st February. A Senior Civil Service official from BIS attended both meetings.

Tata Steel: Scotland

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, which (a) Ministers and (b) officials of his Department attended the Scottish Steel Task Force meeting on (i) 29 January 2015, (ii) 13 November 2015, (iii) 26 November 2015, (iv) 11 December 2015 and (v) 14 January 2016.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) was not present at the first meeting of the Scottish Steel Task Force which took place on 29th October 2015. However, BIS was represented by a Grade 6 level official at the meetings on 13 and 26 November 2015 and 14 January 2016, as well as at the most recent meeting on 4 February 2016. Officials from the Scotland Office have attended all meetings of the Task Force. There was no meeting on 29 January 2016.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he plans to answer Question 24306 from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Northfield, tabled on 26 January 2016 for answer on 29 January 2016.

Nick Boles: I replied to the hon Member on 3 February.

European Social Fund: Grants

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much of the funding under the European Social Fund programme assigned to his Department he expects to allocate in the current funding round.

Anna Soubry: The Skills Funding Agency, one of the partner organisations of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, has secured approximately £725,624,976 including administration costs from the European Social Fund (ESF) on behalf of 38 Local Enterprise Partnership areas. The Skills Funding Agency is currently procuring learning and skills activity identified by local areas. These funds are profiled to be spent by end March 2018.

European Social Fund: Grants

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether his Department has regulations in place to limit top-sliced management fees for European Social Fund funding by lead contractors to sub-contractors.

Anna Soubry: Management fees are a matter between lead contractors and sub-contractors. For European Social Fund (ESF) contracts procured by the Skills Funding Agency, the ESF and 2015/2016 match funding rules state that “You must publish your supply-chain fees and charges policy on your website before entering into any subcontracting agreements for the 2015 to 2016 funding year.” This must include the typical percentage range of fees a contractor retains to manage subcontractors, and how this range is calculated.

European Social Fund: Further Education

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the implications for further education and skills providers of European Social Fund allocations being assigned to local enterprise partnerships, instead of on a co-financing basis; and what representations he has received from further education and skills providers and organisations on the effect of those changes on cashflow and delivery of programmes.

Anna Soubry: The Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) had not received any representations made by providers regarding the role of LEPs in procurement activity. The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) established an External Advisory Group with representation from all provider sectors, the Association of Colleges, Association of Employment and Learning Providers and third sector organisations and also from Local Enterprise Partnerships, including the LEP Network. This provided a forum for the SFA to consult on how European Social Fund (ESF) programme funds would be deployed under the new arrangements. This forum was supported by BIS, SFA and Department for Work and Pensions representation.

Department for International Development

Syria: Overseas Aid

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what discussions she has had with the UN on its aid agencies requiring permission from the Syrian regime in order to deliver aid within that country.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The outcomes of the conference are reflected in the Co-hosts' statement available on the Conference website www.supportingsyria2016.com. The Department for International Development continues to hold regular conversations with the UN and International non-governmental organisations (INGOs) on the issue of humanitarian access inside Syria. We have provided support to the UN and INGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria. Our funding model inside Syria is designed to give maximum flexibility to UN agencies to respond quickly when pockets of humanitarian access open up. However, in the past year, only 10% of all requests submitted by the UN to the regime to access besieged and hard to reach areas have been approved and delivered. That is why the UK lobbied hard for UN Security Council resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258, enabling the UN to deliver aid across borders without the consent of the regime. As a result, 240 shipments of cross-border aid have been delivered by road to Syrians in need. Attempting to deliver humanitarian assistance without the consent of the parties to the conflict is extremely challenging. There is a risk that shipments of humanitarian assistance would be physically stopped and confiscated, humanitarian staff placed in danger and that convoys could come under attack. Likewise, delivering assistance without consent may risk undermining ongoing negotiations on humanitarian access to the 4.6 million people in hard to reach areas across Syria. Consequently, the most effective way to get food to people who are starving and stop these needless and horrific deaths is for Assad and all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law. We continue to call on all parties to allow immediate and unfettered access to all areas of Syria. On 4 February, the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference also brought leaders together to demand an end to these abuses and obstruction of humanitarian aid.

Syria: Malnutrition

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what steps the Government is taking to tackle starvation and malnourishment in Syria.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The outcomes of the conference are reflected in the Co-hosts' statement available on the Conference website www.supportingsyria2016.com. Inside Syria we continue to support the United Nations’ World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, UNICEF and non-governmental organisations, to provide emergency food rations and nutrition interventions and to assist Syrians in growing their own food. Since the beginning of the crisis, UK support has, for instance, provided over 15 million food rations, access to clean water for over 1.6 million people and supported almost 500,000 people with agriculture and livelihoods interventions. There are 486,700 people living in besieged areas and around 4.6 million in hard-to-reach areas in Syria. Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a daily basis. It is outrageous, unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war. On 11 January 2016, the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent confirmed that aid convoys of humanitarian assistance had arrived in the besieged and hard-to-reach towns of Madaya, Foah and Kefraya. Further convoys have since arrived. DFID funding to UN agencies directly supported these convoys with food parcels, nutritional supplements, essential drugs and non-food items including winterisation kits. This is part of the UK’s ongoing support to the UN and international NGOs since the start of the conflict to deliver aid in hard to reach and besieged areas of Syria.  The most effective way to get food to people who are starving and stop these needless and horrific deaths is for Assad and all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law. That is why the UK Government continues to call on the Assad regime and all parties to the conflict to allow immediate and unfettered access to all areas of Syria. On 4 February, the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference also brought leaders together to demand an end to these abuses and obstruction of humanitarian aid.

Syria: Overseas Aid

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of aid disposed in Syria in protecting people from disease and starvation.

Mr Desmond Swayne: UK support has reached hundreds of thousands of people in Syria, enabling vulnerable Syrians to survive. By the end of June 2015, UK support inside Syria had provided over 15.1 million food rations, access to clean water for over 1.6 million people, 2 million medical consultations and resulted in over 6.9 million instances when people benefited from sanitation and hygiene activities. We are concerned that the 2015 UN appeals for the Syria crisis were severely underfunded, meaning Syrian people did not receive the food, shelter and medical treatment they needed so desperately. The UK is playing its part. The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016)" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. Across Syria, Assad and other parties to the conflict are wilfully impeding humanitarian access on a daily basis. It is outrageous, unacceptable and illegal to use starvation as a weapon of war. The UN, the Red Cross Movement and NGO partners are best placed to deliver aid to people who are starving. They have the mandate, expertise and capacity to assess needs and deliver an appropriate, timely response. We continue to press for them to be granted full access to all areas in need. We also lobbied hard for UN Security Council resolutions 2165, 2191 and 2258, enabling the UN to deliver aid across borders without the consent of the regime. As a result, 240 shipments of cross-border aid have been delivered by road to Syrians in need. The most effective way to get food and medical assistance to vulnerable Syrians is for Assad and all parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law. That is why the UK Government is calling on the Assad regime and all parties to the conflict to allow immediate and unfettered access to all areas of Syria.

Syria: Education

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment she has made of the effect of attacks on schools in Syria on children's education in that country.

Mr Desmond Swayne: We are deeply concerned about the impact of the conflict on Syrian children and young people. Children continue to be killed, injured and recruited by parties to the conflict. According to the UN, 35 schools were attacked in 2015 alone, with one quarter of all Syrian schools now closed, damaged or destroyed. Consequently 2.1 million children inside Syria are out of school. This will have profound implications for years to come if it is not urgently addressed. That is why the UK helped to launch and mobilise international support for the No Lost Generation Initiative (NLGI). As part of this support, we have allocated £115 million to provide protection, psychosocial support and education for children affected by the crisis in Syria and the region. As a result, more than 308,000 children have been reached with child protection initiatives inside Syria, mainly in the form of psychosocial consultations and child-friendly spaces. In addition, almost 228,000 children have received formal and informal education inside Syria, allowing them to catch up on lost learning time. The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference include education for an additional 1 million children.

Developing Countries: Education

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what proportion of the Government's humanitarian budget was allocated to education in emergency situations in each of the last three years.

Mr Nick Hurd: The amount of bilateral ODA spent on education programmes in fragile or conflict-affected states where humanitarian programming is also active for the last three years is: £143.9 million in 2012, £226.3 million in 2013 and £199.9 million in 2014. Between 2010 and 2015 DFID supported 11m children in school, of which 7.5m were in fragile or conflict-affected states. DFID has again pledged to support 11m girls and boys with a decent education between 2015 and 2020. DFID is supporting improvements to how the international community provides education in emergencies, including leadership to establish the ‘No Lost Generation’ Initiative to provide over 251,000 Syrian children with education inside Syria and in the region. At the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region on 4th February we were instrumental in getting the international community to agree that all Syrian refugee children and affected host country children should be in education – formal school or non-formal – by the end of 2016/17.

Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

Colleen Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes and projects her Department funds which aim to eradicate polio globally; and how much funding in each category of expenditure her Department provides to each of those programmes and projects.

Mr Nick Hurd: The UK is fully committed to polio eradication and has pledged £300 million to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for 2013 to 2019. This funding is categorised as aid to international organisations. Of the £300 million, £270 million is directed to the World Health Organisation which hosts the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. £30 million is allocated to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to support its role in the global introduction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, a key step in the path to eradication. Polio eradication is poised to be one of the greatest public health success stories of all time and UK support has been critical in bringing us one step closer to the finish line, something people across the country can be immensely proud of.

Syria: International Assistance

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what outcomes her Department aims to achieve at the London Conference on Syria on 4 February 2016 to help provide support to Syria.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The "Supporting Syria and the Region London 2016" Conference was held on 4 February last week, and more than US$11 billion was pledged to support people in Syria and the region affected by the conflict, the largest amount raised in one day for a humanitarian crisis. Commitments made at the Conference will help to create 1.1 million jobs and provide education to an additional 1 million children. The UK remains at the forefront of the response to the crisis in Syria and the region. We have doubled our commitment and have now pledged a total of over £2.3 billion, our largest ever response to a single humanitarian crisis. The outcomes of the conference are reflected in the Co-hosts' statement available on the Conference website www.supportingsyria2016.com.

Developing Countries: Education

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, if she will take steps to prepare to contribute from the public purse to the new education funding platform to be launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016.

Mr Desmond Swayne: The UK has bold ambitions for the World Humanitarian Summit, which comes at a critical time given the number of people experiencing crisis. We are working with a range of partners, including the UN, government, NGOs and the private sector, to ensure it delivers transformative change to crisis response including education. In the run up to the Summit, the UK has been playing a leading role in agreeing principles and global action on education in emergencies and protracted crisis situations, including at the Conference on Supporting Syria and the Region. We are co-funding the design of the new education funding platform and will take a decision whether to support this once the design has been fully appraised.

Developing Countries: Poliomyelitis

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what programmes her Department has contributed to from the £300 million it allocated to eradicate polio.

Mr Nick Hurd: The United Kingdom remains fully committed to global polio eradication and has pledged £300 million to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for 2013 to 2019. Of the £300 million, £270 million is directed to the World Health Organisation, which hosts the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. £30 million is allocated to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to support its role in the global introduction of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine, a key step in the path to eradication.As the third largest contributor towards global polio eradication, UK support has played a crucial role in the more than 99% decrease in polio cases since the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988.

Department for Education

Teachers: Migrant Workers

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the effect on the number of teachers of the Government's policy to consider for deportation after five years non-EU migrants earning less than £35,000 per annum.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect data on the nationality or immigration status of the school workforce. This is a local matter for schools and all schools must employ members of the school workforce in accordance with employment law.

Schools: Migrant Workers

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the effect on the number of school support staff of the Government's policy to consider for deportation after five years non-EU migrants earning less than £35,000 per annum.

Jess Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the effect on the number of teaching assistants of the Government's policy to consider for deportation after five years non-EU migrants earning less than £35,000 per annum.

Nick Gibb: The Department does not collect data on the nationality or immigration status of the school workforce. This is a local matter for schools and all schools must employ members of the school workforce in accordance with employment law.

Schools: Capital Investment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's press release on its Spending Review 2015 settlement, published on 25 November 2015, what proportion of the £23 billion for capital investment will be spent on (a) opening new academies, (b) creating additional school places, (c) opening new free schools and (d) rebuilding schools and addressing maintenance needs.

Edward Timpson: The £23 billion will allow us to open a further 500 free schools, support the provision of over 600,000 additional school places, rebuild and refurbish over 500 schools and address essential school maintenance needs. We have already allocated £7 billion for the creation of new school places this parliament. We are currently in the process of determining allocations for future years. Between 2015 and 2018 we will also invest £4.2bn of allocations across schools, local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary aided partnerships to improve the condition of those schools. We will announce details of condition allocations beyond 2018 in due course. We are delivering £2.4 billion of investment across 260 schools through the first phase of the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP), which began in 2012 and is now into the delivery phase. A further £2 billion across 277 schools will be invested through the second phase of the PSBP by 2021.

GCSE

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made on the implementation of the new GCSE grading system.

Nick Gibb: This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

GCSE

Mr Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of children obtained five or more good GCSEs including English and Mathematics in (a) selective, (b) partially selective and (c) comprehensive local authority areas in 2015; and what that proportion was by ethnic group in each of those categories.

Nick Gibb: The proportion of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at A*-C, including English and mathematics, by local authority and ethnic group was published in the GCSE and equivalent statistical first release for 2015.[1] [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/revised-gcse-and-equivalent-results-in-england-2014-to-2015

Science: Teachers

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 12 January 2016 to Question 22089, what plans her Department has to collect subject level retention rates for teachers in funded secondary schools; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 04 February 2016



The Department for Education produces statistics on the number of teachers joining, remaining in, and leaving the profession each year using the annual School Workforce Census.This census also collects information on teachers’ qualifications and, for a large sample of secondary school teachers, the subjects they teach. We are investigating how best to combine the qualifications and sampled curriculum data with the teacher flow data to produce, for example, entry and leavers rates by subject.

GCE A-level

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she expects A-level courses in (a) French, (b) German, (c) Spanish, (d) religious studies and (e) geography to be approved by awarding bodies for teaching from September 2016; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: Holding answer received on 04 February 2016



This is a matter for Ofqual, the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation. I have therefore asked its Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey to write directly to the Honourable Member. A copy of her reply will be placed in the House of Commons Library.

Educational Psychology

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many educational psychologists have been employed in each local authority in each year since 2013.

Edward Timpson: The number of educational psychologists reported as permanently employed by each local authority in 2013 and 2014 is provided in the attached table.Of the 152 local authorities in both 2013 and 2014, a response regarding educational psychologists was received for 72 per cent in 2013 and 66 per cent in 2014.

Child Protection Taskforce

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what role the child protection task force has in preventing harm to children.

Edward Timpson: At the heart of the government’s agenda for all children is how to safeguard and protect children from harm. An important part of this is the work of the cross-government Ministerial taskforce on Child Protection.The Child Protection Implementation Taskforce is taking a comprehensive approach to child protection through looking at the children social care system as a whole. Every stage of the child’s journey in the care system is important to safeguard and protect children. The Taskforce has looked at how we get the best people to deliver the right outcomes for allchildren– in particular through social work reform and improving leadership; through improving systems and practice – building a better performing, more innovative social care sector; and through accountability and governance, looking at how arrangements locally and nationally help to drive a strong and improving system. It is monitoring implementation and driving forward improvements and reform.The Department for Education published a paper in January 2016 - ‘Children’s social care reform: a vision for change’ - which outlines the areas of reform the Taskforce has been looking at. This can be found on the gov.uk website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/childrens-social-care-reform-a-vision-for-change

Free School Meals: Barnsley

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Answer of 15 April 2013, Official Report, column 130W, if she will reproduce the information in that Answer for each year from 2012-13 to date.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Secondary Education: Greater London

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will rank each secondary school in each London borough by the proportion of children who are eligible for the purpose of determining the pupil premium; and what type each such school is.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Secondary Education: Greater London

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will rank secondary schools in each London borough by the actual and percentage change in the number of children known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals in (a) 2010 and (b) 2015; and what type each such school is.

Mr Sam Gyimah: The Department for Education has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Social Services: Children

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many social workers working with children there were in England in each year since 2010.

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many people qualified to be social workers in children's services in each year since 2010.

Edward Timpson: The numbers of children’s social workers and agency social workers employed by English local authorities each year are published in the Children’s Social Work Workforce data collection. This can be found on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-childrens-social-care-workforceThe Children’s Social Work Workforce data collection was first collected in 2013, with the collection’s third release due to be published on 25 February 2016.The Department does not currently collect data about children’s social workers in other agency settings or private sector.The Department does not collect data on how many people qualified to be social workers in each year.

Ministry of Justice

Guardianship

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department has made on bringing forward legislative proposals to introduce a new power of guardianship for family members in the financial affairs of missing persons.

Dominic Raab: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to my hon. Friend the hon. Member for York Outer on 15 June 2015, which can be found at http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-06-08/1400/.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of personal independence payment appeals were successful in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits including Personal Independence Payment (PIP).72% of PIP appeals were decided in favour of the appellant in Brighton1 between April and September 2015 (the latest period for which figures are available).Information about the proportion of PIP appeals which were decided in favour of the appellant in Great Britain2 is published by the Ministry of Justice in the Tribunals and Gender Recognition Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report for the period April to September 2015, published on 10 December 2015, can be viewed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/tribunals-and-gender-recognition-certificate-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015.1 SSCS data are recorded by the office that dealt with the case and, if the case went to oral hearing, the location of the Tribunal hearing is normally the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. Data cannot be retrieved based on the appellant’s actual address but can be produced detailing the numbers of cases that were dealt with at one of our Regional centres or heard at a specific venue.Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available.2 HMCTS administer appeals received from appellants living in England, Scotland and Wales. The Appeals Service, part of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, administers appeals from appellants living in Northern Ireland.

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any members of the (a) National Tactical Response Group and (b) Tornado Teams have been injured during a call out in the last two years.

Andrew Selous: The number of National Tactical Response Team (NTRG) members who have been injured during a callout over the last 2 years is set out in the table below No central records are held in respect of any injuries to Tornado staff, and this information cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. 20142015Members of NTRG who have been injured during a callout22

Prisoners: Drugs

Jo Stevens: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners in England and Wales were admitted to accident and emergency departments as a consequence of the use of psychoactive substances in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015.

Andrew Selous: This information is not held centrally.

Repossession Orders

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what change there was in the number of (a) mortgage and (b) landlord possession orders in each local authority between 2010 and 2015.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The data is published quarterly at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/mortgage-and-landlord-possession-statistics under ‘Mortgage and landlord possession statistical data (zip file).

Prisons: Visits

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) drugs of each type and (b) other items were confiscated from visitors to each prison in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: We have a range of security measures and searching techniques to prevent smuggling into prisons and to detect items of contraband including drugs. We have legislated to make smuggling New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) into prison illegal, use specially trained dogs to detect illicit drugs and will evaluate the use of Body Scanners to reveal drugs concealed within the body. We refer all visitors to prisons found in possession of drugs to the police. We also use closed visits, where the prisoner and visitor are prevented from physical contact, to deal with visitors and prisoners who smuggle or are suspected of conveying drugs through visits. The table below shows the number and type of drugs confiscated from visitors in each prison for the period 01 October 2015 to 31 December 2015. Prior to 01 October 2015 the Incident Reporting System (IRS) did not specifically record who possessed the drugs found. Number of incidents where drugs were found in visitor's possession, October to December 2015, by establishment and drug type EstablishmentDrug typeNumber of incidents12AylesburyCannabis3BirminghamNPS: Black Mamba1BrinsfordCannabis1 Unknown1BristolOther1BullingdonNPS: Spice1CardiffAmphetamines1 Buprenorphine/Subutex1 Heroin1 NPS: Spice1 Other1 Unknown1Channings WoodHeroin1ChelmsfordCannabis2 NPS: Spice2ColdingleyUnknown1DoncasterAmphetamines1 NPS: Other1 Other2 Unknown3DovegateOther1 Unknown1ElmleyCocaine1FeatherstoneUnknown1FelthamNPS: Other1 NPS: Spice1Forest BankNPS: Black Mamba1 Unknown1Guys MarshUnknown1HaveriggUnknown3High DownUnknown1HighpointNPS: Other1 NPS: Spice2HewellCannabis3 NPS: Other1 NPS: Spice2 Other1 Steroids1Holme HouseNPS: Spice1HumberAmphetamines1Lancaster FarmsUnknown1LeedsAmphetamines1 Cocaine1 NPS: Other1LindholmeCannabis1 NPS: Spice1 Unknown1Lowdham GrangeCannabis Plant1ManchesterCannabis1 NPS: Spice1MoorlandNPS: Spice3 Other1 Unknown1Morton HallNPS: Spice1New HallUnknown1NorthumberlandUnknown2NorwichHeroin1OakwoodHeroin1 Other1 Unknown1OnleyNPS: Spice1 Steroids1 Unknown1ParcUnknown1Peterborough MaleOther1Peterborough FemaleCrack1 Heroin1RanbyNPS: Other1RisleyCannabis1 NPS: Spice2 Unknown2RochesterCannabis1 Crack1 Unknown2Stoke HeathNPS: Other1The MountCannabis1 Heroin1 NPS: Other1 NPS: Spice2VerneNPS: Other1WaylandNPS: Spice2WymottNPS: Other1  (1) Number of incidents where each drug type were found.(2) Where establishment is not listed, no confiscations were reported in the periodData Sources and Quality These figures have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Prisons: Weapons

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many weapons of which type have been confiscated from visitors to prisons in each year since 2010.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times (a) knife, (b), shiv, (c) shank, (d) chib and (e) another slang word for a blade were recorded on the Incident Report System in each prison since 2010.

Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 24706, how many improvised or self-made weapons were confiscated in prisons or young offenders institutes in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous: The information requested could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Prime Minister

Soft Drinks

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Prime Minister, what discussions (a) he, (b) Edward Llewellyn, (c) Camilla Cavendish and (d) staff of the Number 10 Policy Unit have had with representatives of (i) the Food and Drink Federation, (ii) Coca-Cola, (iii) PepsiCo and (iv) the British Soft Drinks Association in each of the last 18 months; and what the subject was of each such meeting.

Mr David Cameron: Details of my meetings with external organisations are released on a quarterly basis and can be accessed via the gov.uk website.My officials and special advisers have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

World War I: Anniversaries

Danny Kinahan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much of his Department's £13.9 million First World War commemoration funding will be provided to projects in Northern Ireland; and to which such projects that funding will be provided.

David Evennett: The Heritage Lottery fund have allocated £13.9m to 58 projects in Northern Ireland to commemorate the First World War. The projects are spread across Northern Ireland and two are in South Antrim. I have asked the HLF to write to you with details of all the projects.

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, to how many (a) ducts and (b) poles built with BDUK funding BT is (i) obliged and (ii) not obliged to give Wholesale Open Access to other communication providers under the terms of the BDUK state aid permission.

Mr Edward Vaizey: BT and the other suppliers with funding from BDUK are obliged to provide wholesale access to all new ducts and poles built using the public subsidy, in line with the requirements of the BDUK European State aid approval.

Broadband: Essex

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the proportion of small and medium-sized enterprises in Essex that will have access to superfast broadband by completion of phase two of the superfast broadband programme.

Mr Edward Vaizey: By the end of phase two of the Superfast Broadband Programme approximately 93% of homes and businesses in Essex will have access to superfast broadband.

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) ducts and (b) poles have been built with BDUK funding which are (i) more than one km in length and cost more than £50,000 to build and (ii) less than one km in length and cost less than £50,000 to build.

Mr Edward Vaizey: BT predominately uses existing duct and pole infrastructure in BDUK project areas, but where state funded infrastructure has been used, they report it on their website at: https://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/home/products/ductandpolesharing/contracts/contracts/downloads/State_Aided_Infrastruture_One_Truth.xls

Department for Work and Pensions

Means-tested Benefits: Operating Costs

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the administrative costs of delivering means-tested benefits were in each of the last three years.

Justin Tomlinson: The information is not available.

Attendance Allowance

Jo Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department paid out in attendance allowance in each of the last three years.

Justin Tomlinson: The Department publishes historic benefit expenditure and caseload data consistent with the annual Budget and Autumn Statements. These are available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/benefit-expenditure-and-caseload-tables-2015

State Retirement Pensions: St Helens North

Conor McGinn: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many women in St Helens North constituency born on or after 6 April 1951 will be affected by equalisation of the state pension age.

Justin Tomlinson: Women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 December 1953 are affected by the equalisation of State Pension age.Women born from 6 December 1953 onwards are affected by the increases in State Pension age from 65 for both men and women.Estimates of the number of women affected at constituency level can be made from the relevant population estimates.Parliamentary Constituency (England and Wales) level population estimates, relating to mid-2014 (the latest available) can be found by selecting “SAPE17DT7 - Parliamentary Constituency Mid-Year Population Estimates (experimental), Mid-2014” at:http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/re-reference-tables.html?edition=tcm%3A77-395002#tab-2014For Scotland, mid-2014, at:http://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/population/population-estimates/special-area-population-estimates/spc-population-estimates

Unemployment: West Midlands

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on the correlation between the reduction in the rate of unemployment in the West Midlands between 2010 and 2016 and any trend in the number of people employed on zero-hour contracts in that region.

Priti Patel: Figures published by ONS show that rising employment in the West Midlands since 2010 – reflected in falling unemployment – has been dominated by more people in full-time and permanent jobs.Information on trends in zero-hours contracts over this period is not available on a consistent basis. This reflects the view of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) that responses to questions about zero-hours contracts in the Labour Force Survey are likely to have been affected by greater awareness of the term itself.

Universal Credit: Telephone Services

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether telephones with a direct connection to the universal credit helpline are available to use free of charge in every job centre.

Priti Patel: We no longer have customer access phones in Jobcentres. However, should a claimant need to use a telephone in connection with their claim or job search, they will be given access to a phone by their work coach.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department has spent employment and support allowance in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: The information* requested has been published and can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487615/expenditure-by-la-2014-15.xlsx * Expenditure is on a Great Britain basis; expenditure in Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency.

Work Capability Assessment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many work capability assessments were carried out in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: The information requested has been published and can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/esa-outcomes-of-work-capability-assessments-claims-made-to-mar-2015-and-appeals-to-sept-2015.

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many recipients of employment and support allowance there were in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) the UK in each of the last five years.

Priti Patel: The information requested by local authority, region and Great Britain has been published and can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/default.asp. Guidance on how to extract the information can be found at: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/home/newuser.asp. Information for Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland: http://www.dsdni.gov.uk/index/stats_and_research.htm

Employment and Support Allowance

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what representations he has received from charities on the adequacy of employment and support allowance payments; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: The information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Work Capability Assessment

Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate his Department has made of the cost of work capability assessments conducted in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Priti Patel: The cost of work capability assessments in the last five years were: April 2010 – March 2011 - £112.8mApril 2011 – March 2012 - £112.4mApril 2012 – March 2013 - £114.3mApril 2013 – March 2014 - £57.3mApril 2014 – March 2015 - £82m

Ministry of Defence

Type 45 Destroyers: Repairs and Maintenance

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department plans for work to begin on rectifying electrical and propulsion faults on the Daring Class Type 45 Destroyer; which ships such rectification work will involve; and when his Department plans for such work to end for each such ship involved.

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, where his Department plans for work to take place on rectifying the electrical and propulsion faults on the Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers.

Mr Philip Dunne: A number of measures to improve the reliability of the Type 45 Power and Propulsion systems have been identified and the ongoing programme to implement these changes continues to deliver positive results, with the majority of work undertaken so far being at Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth.In addition, and as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we are committed to improving system resilience by adding upgraded diesel generators to provide further electrical generation capacity. Alternative technical options and a variety of delivery models are currently being explored with several competing industrial partners. The total cost and timetable for implementing the diesel generator upgrade will be determined at the main investment decision. I am withholding details of our current time and cost estimates as premature disclosure of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.

Ministry of Defence: Security

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the increase in the number of (a) unauthorised entries to military bases and (b) thefts or losses of classified material between 2014 and 2015.

Mark Lancaster: The apparent increase in incidents is attributed to security awareness programmes and a strengthened reporting regime. These have led to an increasing readiness to report even minor breaches and do not represent systematic failings in security protection.

Ministry of Defence: Security

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, what categories of security incident were classed as other security breach in that answer.

Mark Lancaster: Other security breaches include incidents which represented a failure of a control but did not result in the loss of any information. Such breaches would be the contravention of security policy, damage, denial of service, malicious software and personal security.

Type 45 Destroyers: Repairs and Maintenance

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what work will be required on each of the Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers in the fleet due to electrical and propulsion faults; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such work.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of rectifying faults in the power and propulsion system of the Type 45 Destroyer; and if he will make a statement.

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the timescale is for addressing issues relating to the reliability of the power system of the Type 45 Destroyer; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Philip Dunne: A number of measures to improve the reliability of the Type 45 Power and Propulsion systems have been identified and the ongoing programme to implement these changes continues to deliver positive results. In addition, and as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, we are committed to improving system resilience by adding upgraded diesel generators to provide further electrical generation capacity. Alternative technical options and a variety of delivery models are currently being explored with several competing industrial partners.A number of early modifications were implemented under the Type 45 Destroyer Contract for Availability arrangement with BAE Systems at no additional cost to the Ministry of Defence. The total cost and timetable for implementing the diesel generator upgrade will be determined at the main investment decision. I am withholding details of our current time and cost estimates as premature disclosure of this information could prejudice the commercial interests of the Department.

Type 45 Destroyers: Repairs and Maintenance

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department will pay out of the public purse for the cost of repairs to the electrical and propulsion systems on the Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers.

Mr Philip Dunne: A number of early modifications were implemented under the Type 45 Destroyer Contract for Availability arrangement with BAE Systems, at no additional cost to the Ministry of Defence (MOD). The initial work to prove the concept of upgrading the diesel generators was co-funded by BAE Systems and the MOD. Subject to main gate approval, the upgrade will be funded by the MOD.

Warships

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which common electrical and propulsion systems are shared between the T26 Global Combat Ship and the Type 45 Destroyer.

Mr Philip Dunne: Due to the specific requirements of Anti-Submarine Warfare operations and the availability of equipment on the open market, the Type 45 and Type 26 Global Combat Ship (T26 GCS) electrical and propulsion system architectures are fundamentally different; no major equipment will be common to both.Lessons learned from the Type 45 programme and the in-service experience drawn from the Type 23 Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates have all been applied to the T26 GCS electrical and propulsion system design.

Type 45 Destroyers

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times Daring Class Type 45 Destroyers underwent total electrical failure in the (a) Persian Gulf, (b) Strait of Hormuz, (c) Mediterranean Sea, (d) Indian Ocean and (e) North Atlantic Ocean.

Mr Philip Dunne: In the interests of National Security I am not prepared to release information concerning the type or nature of any failure or defect concerning our operational Units as to do so would allow deductions to be made as to their operational capability and effectiveness.

Ministry of Defence: Security

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016 to Question 24141, how many (a) unauthorised entries to military bases and (b) thefts or losses of classified material took place in (i) 2009, (ii) 2010, (iii) 2011, (iv) 2012 and (v) 2013.

Mark Lancaster: The number of security incidents recorded within the Ministry of Defence in each of the years in question is set out in the table below. YearUnauthorised entries to Military BasesThefts or losses of classified material20098327201013384201121365201212327201313379

Frigates

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has made an evaluation of which assets will be transferred from the fleet of T23 Frigates to the fleet of T26 Frigates.

Mr Philip Dunne: The Type 23 capability sustainment programme will de-risk the introduction of the Type 26 Global Combat Ship, and deliver cost savings by bringing equipment into service in the Type 23 Frigates before transitioning to the Type 26. The Sea Ceptor Anti-Air Missile system and the Artisan 997 Air Surveillance Radar are examples of this.

Armed Forces: Uniforms

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the country of manufacture is of each type and item of military uniforms in each branch of the armed services.

Mr Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 November 2014 to Question 215763.



20141127-QnA extract on Armed Forces Uniforms
(Word Document, 14.57 KB)

Type 45 Destroyers

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place in the Library a copy of the independent power and propulsion system performance review of the Type 45 Destroyer of March 2011.

Mr Philip Dunne: A copy of the report entitled 'Type 45 Destroyer - Independent Power and Propulsion System Performance Review', redacted in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

Type 45 Destroyers

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what risk assessment his Department has made of the effect of issues with the power system of the Type 45 Destroyer on its crew (a) when in combat and (b) otherwise; and what steps he has taken to minimise any risk before work remediating those issues takes place.

Mr Philip Dunne: As part of the extensive training programmes undertaken by the Royal Navy, risk assessments and mitigating actions are developed against a wide range of scenarios. Such training ranges from those required under the International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea through to combat effectiveness.In the interests of National Security I am not prepared to release information related to specific risk assessments of our operational Units as to do so would allow deductions to be made as to their operational capability and effectiveness.

Type 45 Destroyers

Kirsten  Oswald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the protection affordable from the public purse for the procurement and commercial arrangements for the Type 45 Destroyer; and whether those arrangements permit appropriate designation of responsibility for design and performance failures.

Mr Philip Dunne: Standard terms governing the allocation of liabilities were put in place for the Type 45 programme. All six Type 45 Destroyers have now passed the point in time from which these terms ceased to apply. A number of early modifications were implemented under the Type 45 Destroyer Contract for Availability arrangement with BAES Systems at no additional cost to the Ministry of Defence.

Armed Forces: Death

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the incidence of death during armed forces training.

Penny Mordaunt: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 1 February 2016 to Question 24067 to the hon. Member for Romford (Mr Rosindell).



Armed Forces: Death
(Word Document, 15.6 KB)

Gulf War Syndrome: Research

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22264, what research his Department has funded into rehabilitative therapies for veterans with persistent symptoms associated with Gulf War illnesses; and what the main findings of that research are.

Mrs Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January 2016 to Question 22264, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on recovery outcomes for ill Gulf War veterans of the research that his Department has funded into rehabilitative therapies for such veterans.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) funded the first stage of a trial at Cardiff University to develop a treatment programme for ill Gulf veterans. Unfortunately there were difficulties with the recruitment of Gulf War veterans and the Department took the decision not to proceed with the second phase of the trial.The MOD has made no assessment of the recovery outcomes for ill Gulf War veterans that took part in that trial.

China: Military Aircraft

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on whether technology in the Shenyang Aircraft Corporation FC-31 aircraft was stolen or copied from the F35-B Lightning II.

Mr Philip Dunne: I am aware of dated reporting in media that suggests this to be the case. The Ministry of Defence does not comment on such material as to do so would or would be likely to prejudice relations between the United Kingdom and other States.

Military Alliances: Special Forces

Douglas Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans his Department has for the introduction of two tier special forces in the Joint Force 2025 announced in the Strategic Defence and Security Review involved in training, assistance advice and mentoring to UK partners.

Penny Mordaunt: It is the long standing policy of the Government not to comment on Special Forces.

Veterans: Cumbria

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many military veterans live in each parliamentary constituency in Cumbria.

Mark Lancaster: The Ministry of Defence does not collect or hold information on all veterans, the majority of whom are of the World War II and National Service generations.

Kurds: Defence Equipment

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has received a request from the Kurdistan regional government for replacement ammunition rounds for British-gifted heavy machine guns; and if he will make a statement.

Penny Mordaunt: We receive periodic requests from both the Government of Iraq and from the Kurdistan Regional Government for assistance. We have previously provided some 50 tonnes of non-lethal support, 40 heavy machine guns and nearly half a million rounds of ammunition to the Kurdish Peshmerga. The Global Coalition considers any requests, taking account of each contributing nation's own requirements and stocks. Availability and provision of ammunition to the Peshmerga were discussed during a recent senior British military visit to Erbil and, should a decision be taken that we can provide further assistance, this would be notified to Parliament in the normal way.

Home Office

Police: Emergency Calls

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department provides to police forces on how to deal with a situation in which an emergency 999 call is erroneously directed to the wrong police force; and what procedures police forces have put in place to deal with such a situation.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have met (i) mobile telephone operators and (ii) BT to discuss the transfer of emergency calls made from mobile telephones to the wrong police force.

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure that people using mobile telephones to call 999 are put in touch with the correct police force; and if she will make a statement.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Holding answer received on 25 January 2016



I have been asked to reply on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).The 999/112 Liaison Committee, chaired by DCMS, provides a forum for representatives from Government; Communications Providers, including BT (which provides the 999 call handling agency) and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs); emergency services and Ofcom, to discuss 999 operational matters The LC’s main concern is the effective handling and transfer of emergency calls from the public, through call handling agents ,to emergency authorities.The “Code of Practice for the Public Emergency Call Service (PECS) between Communications Providers, Call Handing Agencies and the Emergency Authorities” sets out protocols governing 999 calls. This includes guidelines for the Emergency Authorities to manage any occasional situation in which an emergency 999 call is misdirected.

Immigration: Married People

Carol Monaghan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with spouses or partners who are UK citizens have been detained in immigration removal centres in each of the last five years.

James Brokenshire: The data requested is not available centrally and is not routinely collected.It could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.

Visas: Students

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many former students have been arrested and detained for remaining in the UK beyond the term of their tier 4 student visa in each of the last two years.

James Brokenshire: In the time period 1 October 2013 to 30 September 2015, 2920 students are recorded on Home Office databases as having been arrested as Section 10 Overstayers. Of that number 2100 are flagged as having been detained.

Visas: Students

Roger Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for the extension of a tier 4 student visa were declined in each of the last two years.

James Brokenshire: The requested information is given in the table below:Decisions on applications for an extension of stay : Tier 4 & pre-PBS equivalent (main applicants)Year Grants Refusals2013 104,668 11,5442014 68,231 11,486Source: Immigration Statistics July - September 2015, Home Office, table ex_01Corresponding data for 2015 will be published on 25 February 2016.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/476907/extensions-q3-2015-tabs.odsInformation on refusals of extensions of stay for Tier 4 students is published in Extensions table ex_01 in the Home Office’s Immigration Statistics release.The latest edition, is published in Extensions table ex_01 in the Home Office's Immigration Statistics: July to September 2015 is available from the Library of the House and on the GOV.UK statistics web pages at: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release

Asylum: Goytre

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to (a) provide information to and (b) consult the (i) local community and (ii) local authority on plans to establish a reception centre for asylum seekers in Goytre.

James Brokenshire: My officials intend to provide further information to the local authority shortly. This will build on the information which has already been provided and will include any plans for consultation.Should the COMPASS provider elect to progress this option, we will work with the Local Authority to ensure that the appropriate consultation with the statutory agencies and local community is undertaken.

King's College London: Demonstrations

Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department took steps to respond to the violent protests at an Israel Society event at King's College London in January 2016.

Mike Penning: I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer I gave to 24779 on 04 February 2016.

Gangs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to tackle criminal gang activity in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Mr John Hayes: The Government’s plans for tackling organised crime groups, or ‘criminal gangs’, are set out in its Serious and Organised Crime Strategy and amplified in the 2015 National Security Strategy and Strategic Defence and Security Review.Since the publication of the Serious and Organised Crime Strategy in 2013, we have introduced important new legislation through the Serious and Organised Crime Act 2015, and have strengthened collaboration locally, regionally and with the private sector. We have invested in better capabilities to tackle cyber crime and online child sexual exploitation. We have also invested in Regional Organised Crime Units and implemented major new programmes of work to prevent, protect against, and reduce the impact of serious and organised crime.The Strategic Defence and Security Review outlines further measures to tackle organised crime, including our work to: choke off the supply and availability of illegal firearms; and introduce new measures to make the UK a more hostile place for those seeking to move, hide or use the proceeds of crime and corruption or to evade sanctions. It also explains that: we will develop a comprehensive action plan to better identify, disrupt and dismantle the criminal networks involved in modern slavery and immigration crime; and that we will continue to strengthen our approach to tackling online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Intelligence Services: EU Countries

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the Government is doing to improve the sharing of intelligence among EU countries to reduce the movement of terrorists across Europe.

Mr John Hayes: The UK works closely with European counterparts in the shared goal of preventing and disrupting the movement of terrorists across Europe. The UK is committed to working towards being fully compliant with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2178 which required countries to takes steps to address the foreign terrorist fighter phenomenon, including reducing their movement.We work with Member States intelligence services on a bilateral basis and through the Counter Terrorism Group. Beyond our extensive engagement on intelligence channels, including senior visits and operational support, we also work closely with partners through bilateral policy and law enforcement exchanges on counter-terrorism, and discuss the issues at high-level fora such as Justice and Home Affairs Council. We exchange threat assessments and information on our respective approaches to counter terrorism with Member States.

Refugees: Children

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps the Government is taking to assist unaccompanied child refugees in Europe.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of reports by the Chief of Staff of Europol that 10,000 unaccompanied child refugees may have disappeared in Europe in 2015.

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to reunite lone refugee children in mainland Europe with family members in the UK.

James Brokenshire: Unaccompanied children in other EU countries should be able to access the support needed in those countries. The European countries in which they arrive have international obligations and a duty to provide adequate protection and support to refugees within their territory.We are working closely with UN agencies, NGOs and the Member States involved to ensure that protection is provided. We will provide further resources to the European Asylum Support Office to help in border “hotspots” in Greece and Italy to help identify and register children at risk on first arrival in the EU.The Government remains concerned about the needs of vulnerable children on the move in Europe and the Balkans, and the needs of those who become stranded along the route. The UK has therefore increased its aid to refugees and migrants, including children, in Europe and the Balkans to £46 million, divided among the most affected countries and including specific support of £2.75 million to UNICEF, which will benefit 27,000 children. In addition, the Department for International Development (DFID) is creating a new fund of up to £10 million to support the needs of vulnerable refugee and migrant children in Europe, the Refugee Children Fund for Europe.This will include targeted support to meet the specific needs of unaccompanied and separated children who face additional risks. The support will be delivered through a range of UN agencies and NGOs. Unaccompanied children that have a close family link to the UK and claim asylum in another EU country may be entitled to be transferred to the UK under the family unity provisions of the Dublin Regulation. We want to ensure we reunite children with any close family in the UK as quickly and as safely as possible, and we work closely with EU partners on this issue.

Asylum: Housing

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what profit has been made by the three contractors and sub-contractors under the provision of contracts for asylum accommodation since the contract with Compass began in 2012-13.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Housing

Stuart C. McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been accommodated in temporary dispersal accommodation under a contract with Compass for the provision of asylum accommodation in each Compass region in each month since April 2015.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Fire Services: Pensions

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the Government Actuaries Department relating to firefighters' pensions in its report dated 28 August 2015.

Mike Penning: The Government has determined that the principles of the Ombudsman’s decision in the Milne v Government Actuary’s Department case should be applied to other affected individuals, including retired firefighters and police officers in England.Redress will be paid to affected individuals via their relevant pension scheme, and we will be providing fire and rescue authorities and police forces with necessary grant to cover the cost of these payments.Pension administrators will have now completed the majority of calculations and the majority of payments to individuals will be made by April 2016. This does not preclude payments being made earlier in many cases. I trust that authorities will make payments as soon as is practical and understand that some have already done so.

Marriage Certificates: Mothers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department has taken to amend UK marriage certificates to include mothers' names.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which were the top 10 countries of origin of asylum seekers accommodated in (a) Wales and (b) the UK in each of the last six years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum: Wales

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many asylum seekers who are (a) men, (b) women and (c) under 18 were accommodated by her Department in each constituency in Wales in each of the last six years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Asylum

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many individual unique addresses asylum seekers were accommodated in by her Department in each constituency in the UK in each of the last six years.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Marriage Certificates: Mothers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she has taken to address the exclusion of mothers' names on marriage certificates.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Marriage Certificates: Mothers

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if her Department will announce a public consultation to determine the level of support for including mothers' names on marriage certificates.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

HM Treasury

Revenue and Customs: ICT

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of functional areas of the existing HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) IT Aspire contract for which any HMRC plan to create a GoCo capability would not require TUPE transfers of staff.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has reviewed a number of options when considering the transition from Aspire. Due to commercial confidentiality, the Department is not in a position to give more details of its plans at this stage. HMRC’s ultimate aim is an operating model that has the right mix of technology, processes and skills, delivered in a multi-sourced model.

Revenue and Customs: ICT

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will publish (a) a risk analysis, (b) an assessment of the planned transfer of staff, (c) the timetable for TUPE transfers and (d) the date of commencement of consultation with relevant trade unions in relation to the replacement of the HMRC IT Aspire contract.

Mr David Gauke: Through the Aspire Replacement Programme, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has considered a wide range of risks that could impact the successful replacement of this contract. The Programme is part of the Government Major Projects Portfolio. The governance bodies for the Programme include senior representatives from across HMRC, Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, in addition to key external expertise from industry.Due to commercial confidentiality, HMRC is not in a position to give more details of its plans at this stage.HMRC has an ongoing two-way dialogue with relevant trades unions about all matters that affect the Department.

Revenue and Customs: ICT

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has made of the cost of (a) the replacement of and (b) planned privatisations within the HMRC IT Aspire contract.

Mr David Gauke: At the Public Accounts Committee hearing of 16 March 2015, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) advised that the transition cost for the entire business case will be about £600 million. The Business Case setting out the options for the replacement of the Aspire contract is currently subject to formal governance processes, and as such HMRC cannot discuss future plans.

Concentrix: Performance Standards

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether Concentrix has met its targets set in its service level agreement.

Mr David Gauke: In HM Revenue and Customs’ contract with Concentrix there are three Key Performance Indicators. These cover post and telephony expectations, and all three are currently being met. There is also one Quality Performance Indicator, where the most recent indicative result is 95.2% against an expectation of 97%.

Gaming Machines: Tax Yields

Sir David Amess: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much revenue has accrued to the public purse from Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

Damian Hinds: Total Machine Games Duty (MGD) receipts for the years ending 31 March 2015 and 2014 were £562 million and £502 million. Total Amusement Machine Licence Duty receipts for the year ending 31 March 2013 were £151million. Receipts from fixed odds betting terminals are not separately identified in the figures published in HMRC’s Tax & Duty bulletin. The bulletin can be found here: https://www.uktradeinfo.com/Statistics/Pages/TaxAndDutyBulletins.aspx

Revenue and Customs: ICT

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, when his Department's discussions with Capgemini and Fujitsu began on the replacement of the HM Revenue and Customs IT Aspire contract.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs’ discussions with its IT partners have taken place on a regular basis since the Aspire contract began in 2004. The Department created the Aspire Replacement Programme in 2013 to manage discussions with its partners, following the Memorandum of Understanding in 2012 which led to the adaption of the Aspire contract.

Revenue and Customs: Digital Technology

Chris Stephens: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans his Department has assessed for changing the status of HM Revenue and Customs Digital Technology Services to enable it to become profit-making.

Mr David Gauke: The company was set up as a not-for-profit and there are no plans to change its status to a profit-making entity.

Revenue and Customs: Telephone Services

Louise Haigh: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether hon. Members can raise issues relating to Concentrix when using the hotline to HM Revenue and Customs for hon. Members.

Mr David Gauke: I refer the honorable lady to the answer I provided on 23 November to question 17151. http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-11-23/17151/

Housing: Foreign Nationals

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government is planning to introduce restrictions on the sale of UK property to investors living outside the EU.

Harriett Baldwin: The Government has no plans to introduce restrictions on the sale of UK property to investors living outside the EU

Help to Buy Scheme

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Government plans to increase the £250,000 threshold for properties outside London under the Help to Buy ISA scheme.

Harriett Baldwin: The government does not plan to revise the eligibility criteria for the Help to Buy: ISA scheme.

Hinkley Point C Power Station: Finance

Paul Flynn: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish all agreements made to date with EDF energy over financing and borrowing arrangements for the proposed Hinkley C nuclear plant; and if he will ensure that agreements which relate to the differential financial arrangements depending on development of the Flamanville nuclear plant in France and the proposed Sizewell C plant are so published.

Greg Hands: The financing and borrowing arrangements for the proposed Hinkley Point C nuclear plant have not yet been signed. These arrangements are commercially sensitive and will not be published. However, the Chancellor did announce in September 2015 an initial guarantee of £2 billion of bonds which must be repaid by December 2020 by the shareholders of the project company. There is no further obligation to issue guarantees after that date. It is the intention of DECC to publish the Contract for Difference following its signature, and this is the document that contains the reduction in the Hinkley Point C “Strike Price” from £92.50 to £89.50 – which is linked to a positive decision by EDF to proceed with Sizewell C.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the level of potential exposure to risk transferred to the public purse due to the introduction of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Harriett Baldwin: The Treasury publishes annually an assessment of risk from the Government’s financial interventions, including the risk borne by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) due to these interventions. This was most recently disclosed in the Treasury Group 2014/15 Annual Accounts published in July last year.

Financial Services: Accountancy

Mr Douglas Carswell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions his Department had with the International Accounting Standards Board on the effect of conversion to IFRS accounting standards for financial services companies on leverage ratios for those companies.

Harriett Baldwin: In the UK, listed companies have been required to use International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) since 2005. Banks who are not required to use IFRS are able to choose between using IFRS or using UK Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This Government has not had any discussions with the International Accounting Standards Board around the effect of companies being required to convert to IFRS, though continues to engage with that body and all others involved in setting standards for the financial services sector.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what plans HM Revenue and Customs has to take into account the effect of downtime of the HSBC online banking system during January 2015 when issuing penalties for late self-assessment tax returns.

Mr David Gauke: The downtime of online HSBC had no impact on customer’s ability to successfully file their tax return

HSBC

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will discuss with the Chief Executive of HSBC that bank's application of money laundering rules to hon. Members of both Houses of Parliament and their immediate and extended families; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Charles Walker: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the HSBC Board on its practice of (a) refusing and (b) withdrawing bank accounts from UK citizens who it identifies as being politically exposed persons; and if he will make a statement.

Harriett Baldwin: Under the UK’s Money Laundering Regulations 2007, the meaning of a politically exposed person does not include an individual who is or has been entrusted with a prominent public function by the UK. The Fourth Money Laundering Directive, which will be transposed into national law by June 2017, makes no distinction between the prominent functions by the UK and third countries. However, the Government's view is that the Directive permits a risk-based approach to the identification of whether an individual is a politically exposed person and, when identified, the Directive enables the application of different degrees of enhanced measures to reflect the risks posed. We will be setting out this view in our consultation which will be published shortly. This change should not prevent any Member of this House, or any other individual in this category, from gaining or maintaining a UK bank account. I regularly raise these issues with banks and the regulator and we encourage the banks to implement these measures domestically in the most risk-based manner possible.

Inheritance Tax

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of inheritance tax relief for estates left on death.

Mr David Gauke: There are several inheritance tax (IHT) reliefs and these have different policy purposes. Transfers between spouses, including civil partners, are exempt from IHT. Taken together with the IHT nil-rate band, these exemptions are designed to allow most estates to be passed on to beneficiaries without an inheritance tax liability. More targeted exemptions and reliefs have different purposes including encouraging charitable giving, ensuring that businesses and farms do not have to be broken up to pay the liability and ensuring estates of those in the armed services and our emergency services who die in active service are exempt from inheritance tax.

Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on the replacement of the value for money assessment quantitative assessment tool for comparing private finance and conventional procurement options; and which PF1 and PF2 projects used (a) the original value for money assessment quantitative assessment tool or (b) any replacement tool.

Greg Hands: The Government’s approach to appraisal is set out in the Green Book. This provides a common, standard method for comparing all public spending decisions that use central government funding; the approach to appraising potential PPP projects is consistent with this central guidance. The quantitative assessment tool was in place from August 2004 until its withdrawal in December 2012, all projects which commenced between these dates should have used the tool. For details of specific projects during this period, please see the spreadsheet ‘Current projects as at 31 March 2014’ at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/private-finance-initiative-projects-2014-summary-data A replacement quantitative assessment tool has not been issued by HM Treasury due to the limitations of standard models; since December 2012 procuring authorities have undertaken appropriate quantitative assessment in accordance with the principles set out in the Green Book.

Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which of the unitary charges in the list of private finance initiative projects published by his Department on 15 December 2014 were (a) service charges, (b) interest charges and (c) other costs identified over the course of the contracts.

Greg Hands: Whilst the Treasury does collect and publish information on the unitary charges of PFI projects, we do not collect it broken down into its constituent parts, neither do we have the detailed financial models that would allow us to disaggregate the totals.

Revenue and Customs: Cardiff

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many complaints from members of the public were received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) relating to the closure of the HMRC enquiry centre in Cardiff in the last 18 months.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs does not hold this information.

Private Finance Initiative

Stella Creasy: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish the equity return information provided as part of all PF2 projects commissioned in the last five years.

Greg Hands: The first PF2 projects reached financial close last year. The Treasury will publish the equity return information on PF2 projects periodically.

Connaught Asset Management

Paul Blomfield: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department and the FCA have made on the Connaught Income Fund Series 1.

Harriett Baldwin: The FCA is an independent, non-governmental organisation, and so it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in, or comment on, their ongoing investigation into the Connaught Income Fund Series 1. On 29 January, the FCA published on their website an update to investors on the Connaught Income Fund. This update outlines that a settlement has been reached between the liquidators of the fund and Capita Financial Managers Ltd. The FCA have asked the liquidators to distribute the settlement sum to investors as soon as possible. The update also states that while the FCA’s investigation is ongoing, they will not provide any comments or details on progress because to do so may later turn out to be misleading.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Stephen Doughty: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many enquiries regarding self-assessment originating from each constituency were handled by HM Revenue and Customs call centres in each of the last three tax years.

Mr David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs does not hold data by constituency and regularly publishes general performance reports at Gov.uk.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Ruth Cadbury: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the planned increase in stamp duty on the ability of people to purchase a retirement property in advance of selling their primary home.

Mr David Gauke: From 1 April 2016 higher rates of SDLT will be charged on purchases of additional residential properties, such as second homes and buy-to-let properties. The higher rates will be 3 percentage points above the current SDLT rates. This is part of the Government’s commitment to supporting home ownership and first-time buyers. The Government has carefully considered the case where a purchaser buys a new main home in advance of selling an old one. Where there is a temporary overlap between replacing and selling a main residence, the Government intends that higher rates will apply but the purchaser will be entitled to a refund of the higher amounts when they dispose of their previous main residence within 18 months. The Government has consulted on the changes to ensure they are introduced in a fair way. The final policy design will be confirmed at Budget on 16 March 2016.

Science: Tax Allowances

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of income tax and corporation tax relief on payments to relevant scientific research associations.

Mr David Gauke: This is a longstanding tax relief which ensures that business payments made to scientific research associations which carry out research relevant to the business can be taken into account in calculating taxable profits.

Stamp Duties

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of stamp duty exemption for transfers under schemes of company reconstruction and similar arrangements.

Mr David Gauke: Relief from stamp duty is available for company reconstructions where the same people hold the same proportion of shares before and after the reconstruction. The relief ensures that stamp duty does not apply where there is no real change in ownership of a company. The relief also recognises that reconstructions of companies often occur for genuine commercial reasons unrelated to tax, so in strictly defined circumstances should be able to take place in a tax neutral way. All claims are adjudicated by HM Revenue and Customs to ensure the strict conditions for relief are met.

Research and Development Tax Credit

Seema Malhotra: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) primary and (b) secondary policy purposes are of research and development tax credits.

Mr David Gauke: R&D tax credits support businesses to invest in Research & Development (R&D). They play a key role in the Government’s objective to have a tax system that supports productive investment. A 2015 evaluation by HM Revenue and Customs found that each £1 of tax foregone by R&D tax credits stimulates between £1.53 and £2.35 of additional R&D investment.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Energy: Prices

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on assistance to elderly people to help them with increases in energy prices.

Andrea Leadsom: Providing direct help to vulnerable consumers, including the elderly to keep their energy bills down is a priority for the Department. For example, direct help is given to vulnerable consumers through energy efficiency schemes such as the Energy Company Obligation and through the Warm Home Discount scheme, where 2 million low income and vulnerable households per year receive rebates off their electricity bills. DECC officials regularly meet with other government departments to discuss helping vulnerable consumers.

Solar Power: VAT

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what the implications for her policy on the solar power industry are of the recent European Court of Justice decision on levels of VAT.

Andrea Leadsom: HMRC has consulted on removing solar technologies from the list of measures that are currently eligible for the lower (5%) rate of VAT. They are currently considering the responses to the consultation, which closed on 3rd February[1]. If it is decided that a change to VAT is appropriate, we will consider options on how to maintain a suitable rate-of-return for investors. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/vat-changes-to-the-reduced-rate-of-vat-for-the-installation-of-energy-saving-materials

Coal: Colombia

Mr David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what proportion of coal burnt in UK coal-fired power stations came from Colombia in 2015.

Andrea Leadsom: Full year figures for 2015 are not currently available. In the first 9 months of 2015 (January to September) 1, 32% of imported steam coal, which is predominately used by power stations, came from Columbia.  [1] Coal Imports ET2.4: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/487870/ET_Dec_15.pdf

Fuel Cells: Hydrogen

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, pursuant to the Answer of 29 January 2016, what steps her Department is taking to encourage the development and implementation of low carbon hydrogen fuel cell infrastructure in the UK.

Andrea Leadsom: Through the Energy Innovation Programme, DECC is supporting development of hydrogen fuel cell technologies. These technologies may deliver low cost, low carbon heat and power at high efficiency to homes. Following DECC funded technology development, Ceres Power, a UK based company, has recently announced an agreement with Honda R & D Ltd based in Japan, to jointly develop Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for a range of potential power equipment applications. Most current domestic fuel cell technologies can operate on natural gas but will offer better performance, and result in lower GHG emissions, if natural gas is replaced with hydrogen.

Energy Supply: Older People

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of steps taken by energy suppliers to ensure customers with severe medical conditions are aware of the assistance available through the Priority Services Register.

Andrea Leadsom: Energy suppliers are required by their licence conditions to take reasonable steps at least once a year to inform their domestic customers about the Priority Service Register. They are required to explain how customers who are of pensionable age, disabled or chronically sick may become listed on it to receive free services to help them with their access, communication and safety needs. Ofgem is carrying out a review of the Priority Service Register to ensure the existing services meets the needs of consumers in vulnerable situations. As part of the review, Ofgem is currently consulting on proposals, including changes to eligibility requirements to ensure support is better targeted to customers in vulnerable situations. The consultation closes on 18 February 2016 and is available on Ofgem’s website at: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/sites/default/files/docs/psr_final_proposals_final_0.pdf

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what contingency plans the Government has in place to ensure security of energy supply in the event of the proposed Hinkley nuclear power station not being completed.

Andrea Leadsom: We remain confident that Hinkley Point C will go ahead on schedule. Security of supply is ensured through the Capacity Market, in which National Grid recommends a volume of capacity to secure ahead of each four year- and one year-ahead auction. The process in determining the amount of capacity to secure, uses a thorough plant level assessment of what capacity the UK is likely to be able to rely on from other plants.

Cabinet Office

Voluntary Work: Young People

Liam Byrne: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish his plans for the future of the National Citizen Service.

Mr Rob Wilson: Holding answer received on 02 February 2016



The 2015 Autumn Statement announced over a billion pounds for NCS over the next parliament and the Government is committed to expanding the programme to 360,000 places by 2020. In 2013, the NCS Trust, an independent social enterprise, was established to manage NCS and deliver the programme. Cabinet Office is supporting the NCS Trust to develop their plans to meet this ambitious target and further details will be made available in due course.

Charities: Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the oral contribution by the Minister for the Cabinet Office, of 26 January 2016, Official Report, column 231, what steps he has taken to contact the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to the reform of charities legislation to include social investment; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Rob Wilson: Charity law is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland. Officials in the Office for Civil Society kept their counterparts in the Department for Social Development, Northern Ireland, informed of progress as the measures which are now contained in the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill were consulted on and developed.I have written to Lord Morrow MLA, Minister for Social Development, following the Third Reading of the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Bill, to draw his attention to the debate and the provisions of the Bill.

Cabinet Office: Families

Tim Loughton: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what guidance his Department has issued to officials in his Department to support the implementation of the Family Test.

Mr Oliver Letwin: Family Test guidance was published online in October 2014, and is available to all officials. The guidance can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/368894/family-test-guidance.pdf

Integrated Debt Services: Directors

Louise Haigh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, who represents the Government on the board of Integrated Debt Services Limited.

Matthew Hancock: Ed Welsh and Thomas Vogt-Skard are the Cabinet office Non-Executive Directors on the board of IDSL.

Cabinet Office: Google

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what discussions have taken place between Ministers in his Department and Google on IT systems used by the Government in the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: As part of my Department's transparency programme, details of Ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications.

Public Sector: Procurement

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24475, what his policy is on providing for parliamentary scrutiny any revisions to guidance on procurement policy and its relationship to foreign policy.

Matthew Hancock: Procurement guidance issued by the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) deals with operational matters and clarifies existing policy, set out in the EU Public Procurement Directives and the Public Contracts Regulations (2015), which were subject to Parliamentary process.

Government Departments: Google

Ian C. Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what contracts for delivery of IT services have been concluded between the Government and Google in the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Since January 2011, as part of the Government’s transparency programme, details of central government contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder. Since 1 April 2015, wider public sector bodies, including local authorities, have also been required to publish details of contracts above the value of £25,000 on Contracts Finder.Contracts published prior to 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: http://data.gov.uk/data/contracts-finder-archiveThose published after 26 February 2015 can be viewed at: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Schools: Air Pollution

Mr Khalid Mahmood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make it her policy to monitor air pollution levels outside schools.

Rory Stewart: The UK national monitoring network follows strict criteria for the number and location of air quality monitoring sites as set out in Annex III of the ambient air quality Directive. These do not preclude siting monitoring outside or nearby to schools and some existing monitors are near to schools. To ensure the network meets the Directive requirements, monitoring is undertaken at a range of locations (e.g. urban background, roadside, industrial and rural locations). Practical factors such as health and safety, access, locality to services, planning, land ownership and cost of monitoring sites are also key in siting new monitoring stations.Many Local Authorities also conduct air quality monitoring and are free to determine their chosen approach in assessing air pollution based on local circumstances and priorities. Local Authorities are able to use monitoring methods not available to the national network due to the Directive’s requirements. This means that they are able to design monitoring more suited to the local circumstance. However, when a new national monitoring site is required, Local Authorities will be consulted and where possible, existing sites may be shared or a new site located to meet both national and local needs. This may often mean consideration is given to siting at a local school or at a Local Authority or public building.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs: Families

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what guidance her Department has issued to its officials to support implementation of the Family Test.

George Eustice: The Family Test was announced by the Prime Minister in August 2014 and introduced in October 2014. Produced in collaboration with third sector partners from the Relationship Alliance, the guidance outlines the basis for the Family Test and provides policy officials with information on how the test should be applied when formulating policy and my Department follows that guidance - Family Test Guidance. Defra has a team leading on the Family Test who collaborate with the Department for Work and Pensions. Defra is following the guidance to embed and implement the test in the policymaking process and where the test identifies impacts on the family it will be evidenced as part of the formal Impact Assessment.

Flood Control: Per Capita Costs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 January 2016 to Question 24677, if she will publish the population estimates for each of the Environment Agency regions used by her Department as sourced from the Office for National Statistics.

Rory Stewart: The Table below shows the population per Environment Agency Area. The data has been sourced from the Office for National Statistics from the 2011 Census for England and Wales. The data has been downloaded at local authority level and the Environment Agency (public facing) Area boundaries have been used to select those local authorities within each of the Area boundaries. The figures for the selected local authorities in each Area have been added up to produce a population total for each Area. The total for each Area has been rounded to the nearest 100,000 and these rounded figures have been added together to provide the regional totals.  6 year programme capital figures split by region (2015/16 - 2020/21)Total 6-Year GiATotal PopulationTotal GiA per personEA Region£m £North and East789.414,700,00053.7West312.115,700,00019.9South East970.422,900,0042.4National273.2  Total2345.153,300,00044 To note – 1 local authority district 'Central Bedfordshire' falls within multiple Environment Agency areas - Hertfordshire & North London and Cambridgeshire & Bedfordshire, so based on the approximate visual area, 40% of the population has been placed in Hertfordshire & North London Area and 60% in Cambridgeshire & Bedfordshire.

Department of Health

Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people of each age group and gender were diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 04 February 2016.The correct answer should have been:

Data relating to the total number of people diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)(IBD) in each of the last five years is not collected. The two main forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis only affects the large intestine whereas Crohn's disease affects the whole of the digestive system. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance indicates that IBS prevalence in the general population is estimated to be between 10% and 20%. Recent trends indicate that there is also a significant prevalence of IBS in older people. ulcerative colitis has an incidence in the United Kingdom of approximately 10 per 100,000 people annually, and a prevalence of approximately 240 per 100,000. This amounts to around 146,000 people in the UK with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. In addition to this, there are currently at least 115,000 people in the UK with Crohn's disease.

Jane Ellison: Data relating to the total number of people diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)(IBD) in each of the last five years is not collected. The two main forms of IBD are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis only affects the large intestine whereas Crohn's disease affects the whole of the digestive system. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance indicates that IBS prevalence in the general population is estimated to be between 10% and 20%. Recent trends indicate that there is also a significant prevalence of IBS in older people. ulcerative colitis has an incidence in the United Kingdom of approximately 10 per 100,000 people annually, and a prevalence of approximately 240 per 100,000. This amounts to around 146,000 people in the UK with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. In addition to this, there are currently at least 115,000 people in the UK with Crohn's disease.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to help alleviate the work pressures placed on A&E departments as a consequence of the number of admissions which relate to excessive drinking.

Jane Ellison: Alcohol-related attendances in accident and emergency (A&E) are a matter of concern. We are taking action, for example, by encouraging better sharing of anonymised data on these attendances between National Health Service bodies and the police. This can provide intelligence for licensing decisions, enabling targeting of premises who are contributing to irresponsible sales and drunkenness. The NHS constitution makes clear that abusive or violent behaviour would be reasonable grounds to refuse access to NHS services. That would include a small minority of people who are drunk and abusive to staff. In addition, accredited hospital staff have powers to issue fines to individuals whose drunkenness could cause harassment, alarm or distress (Penalty Notices for Disorder - £80 fines).

Mental Health

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data his Department collects on adult loneliness.

Alistair Burt: The Department of Health does not collect data on adult loneliness but a range of other national collections do address this issue. The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) collects information on social care activity and expenditure. In 2015 the type of data the HSCIC collects was changed and for the first time it now captures information on social isolation. The Community Care Statistics: Social Services Activity 2014/15 show that local authorities in England met the needs of 56,000 adults where the primary support reason was support for social isolation. The Personal Social Services: Expenditure and Unit Costs England 2014-15, show that local authorities spent £81 million in meeting the needs of adults whose primary support reason was social isolation/other. The HSCIC does not collect data on the numbers of adults or expenditure spent where local address social isolation through preventative measures. The HSCIC run an annual Survey of Adult Social Care users and a biennial Survey of Adult Carers covering all Local Authorities in England. Both surveys contain questions on users and carers satisfaction with their levels of social contact. This data feeds into the Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework indicators which are also published by HSCIC.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps the Government is taking to raise awareness of the public health and public order effects of excessive drinking.

Jane Ellison: The Government, through the Public Health Outcomes Framework, measures alcohol harm and the impact of local authorities’ actions on public health. Public Health England (PHE) produces local alcohol profiles which provide local authority level data to enable professionals and the public to see the harms that alcohol contributes to in their area. PHE has recently run a campaign, Health Matters, aimed at public health professionals and others to highlight the costs of harmful drinking and dependent use of alcohol, and the benefits that come from local areas investing in interventions to reduce those harms. For the last two years, PHE has worked with the charity Alcohol Concern, in promoting the ‘Dry January’ campaign. This mass participation event encourages people to ‘go dry’ for a month. In 2015, 50,000 people signed up, with 67% of participants reporting lower drinking levels six months later. PHE has continued to support Dry January in 2016. PHE also offer specific marketing programmes aimed toward young people to reduce the uptake of risky behaviours, including alcohol consumption.

Cholesterol

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what mechanisms are in place to collate and share cholesterol data across the NHS in order to improve cholesterol testing and management.

Jane Ellison: The Health Survey for England is an annual survey of the general population which has included measurements of total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol every year since 2008. The data is publically available from the UK Data Service. Cholesterol testing in primary care is included in the Quality Outcomes Framework for people diagnosed with hypertension and diabetes and this is published every year by the Health and Social Care Information Centre. In addition, the National Cardiovascular Health Intelligence Network within Public Health England is working closely with organisations concerned with cardiovascular disease to take forward the recommendations in the recent Heart UK report ‘Helping Us to Beat Cholesterol’. This report focusses on the importance of data in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease.

Home Care Services

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many home visits were provided to adult social care clients (a) in total and (b) per 1,000 of the population aged 65 and over in each English local authority in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2014-15.

Alistair Burt: We are informed by the Health and Social Care Information Centre that the information requested is not collected centrally.

Compulsorily Detained Mental Patients: Children

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many young people aged 17 or under of each age were sectioned under the Mental Health Act in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many young people aged 17 or under of each age were held in police custody as a place of safety in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: The National Police Chiefs Council has reported figures on the number of children held in police custody as a place of safety under section 136 of the Mental Health Act for only three years. These were as follows: 2012-13 255;2013-14 256; and2014-15 161. Data on children and young people sectioned under other sections of the Mental Health Act are not available centrally.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the (a) median and (b) maximum length of stay was in inpatient child and adolescent mental health services in (i) England and (ii) by provider in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: While accurate data is not currently available to answer this question, the new Mental Health Services Dataset requires all providers to submit data that includes length of treatment from 1 January 2016. This data will become available as soon thereafter as data quality allows.

Mental Health Services

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the average waiting time for mental health (a) assessment and (b) treatment was in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: We do not collect the data centrally. However, this Government has for the first time legislated to enshrine parity of esteem and put into place waiting time targets. We are moving forward the data and transparency agenda and a new dataset for mental health will be published by April this year. It begins with data on Waiting, Access, and Outcomes for the Early Intervention in Psychosis Pathway. Initial data will be experimental, although once the data is more robust we will expand the dataset to other mental health pathways.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many times there were no tier four child and adolescent mental health services beds available in (a) England and (b) each region in the last 12 months.

Alistair Burt: Since 1 April 2015, there have always been tier four Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services beds available in England as a whole.Since 1 April 2015, there were a total of 26 days when no beds were available in the South East and 52 days when no beds were available in the South West. In all other regions there have always been tier four beds available since April 2015.Accurate data is only available from 1 April 2015 due to the introduction of a more effective bed status database from that date.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidences of (a) restraint and (b) prone restraint in child and adolescent mental health services were recorded in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: While this information is not yet collected centrally, from 1 January 2016 mental health providers are required to record all incidents of restraint involving children and young people in their returns to the Health and Social Care Information Centre. This data will become available as soon thereafter as data quality allows. The Care Quality Commission is responsible for monitoring practice in inpatient children and adolescent psychiatric services.

NHS: Finance

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NHS England next plans to review the process and practice of applications for individual funding requests.

George Freeman: NHS England will be consulting on a revised Individual Funding Request policy later this year and will subsequently review and update the Standard Operating Procedure as required.

Lipoedema

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether his Department has conducted an analysis of the potential cost to the public purse of offering liposuction treatment for lipoedema through the NHS.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department is taking to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lipoedema.

Jane Ellison: No such analysis has been made. There are several different treatments available for the management of lipoedema such as compression therapy, exercise and massage. There is limited evidence on the efficacy of liposuction for the treatment of lipoedema, and it is not routinely available on the National Health Service. In May 2014, the Royal College of General Practitioners, in partnership with the charity Lipoedema UK, developed and published an e-learning module for general practitioners on the diagnosis and management of lipoedema. The module was endorsed by the Royal College of Nursing and can be found at the following link:  elearning.rcgp.org.uk/course/info.php?id=146&popup=0

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the level of programme budgeting expenditure on child and adolescent mental health services was in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: Aggregated Programme Budget expenditure for mental health disorders for financial years 2004/05 to 2012/13 is outlined in the table below, including data on child and adolescent services which has been collected since the financial year 2006/07. Programme Budgeting CategoryExpenditure (£ billion)2004/052005/062006/072007/082008/092009/102010/112011/122012/13Mental Health Disorders7.227.828.419.179.7910.6110.9611.1611.28Of which child and adolescent--0.610.620.680.710.710.710.70 Due to the move to a new system of data collection, figures will not be made available for 2013/14. Figures for 2014/15 will be made available at a later date. These figures represent the funding for Tier 4 services and some Tier 3 services – this pays for the workforce and infrastructure. Further funding is provided by clinical commissioning groups, local authorities and direct investment by schools to deliver Tier 1-3 community and universal services. This data is not available centrally. The Government is investing an additional £1.4 billion in an ambitious five year programme of system wide transformation to improve children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. This includes £150 million to develop evidence based community eating disorder services for children and young people.

Mental Health Services: Children

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people aged 18 and under were admitted to A&E for (a) deliberate self-harm and (b) psychiatric conditions in England in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: While data on the number of people attending accident and emergency (A&E) departments is not collected centrally, the table does provide a number of A&E attendances for patients aged under 18 with a recorded first diagnosis of psychiatric conditions, those where the recorded patient group is 'intentional self-harm' and those where both criteria appear from 2010-11 to 2014-15. CriteriaYear2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15Diagnosis - Psychiatric Conditions6,9508,93010,85313,98914,917Patient Group - Intentional Self Harm13,50413,73013,85917,48617,019Attendances where both the above codes were recorded1,0981,3401,6872,2052,313

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many bed days relating to delayed transfers of care out of tier four child and adolescent mental health services beds there were in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: Data from NHS England indicates that between November 2015 and February 2016 there were 1,834 bed days relating to delayed discharges. This represents the total number of days from when a patient should have been discharged until when they were, or until 1 February 2016 if the patient had not yet been discharged by this date.Data prior to November 2015 is inaccurate and no data exists prior to April 2013.

NHS: Public Relations

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on public relations and communications in each of the last five years.

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many public relations and communications staff have been hired directly by the NHS in each of the last five years.

Pauline Latham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the NHS budget was spent on public relations consultancy firms in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not hold the requested information.

Health Professions: Migrant Workers

Charlotte Leslie: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many nationals of (a) the EEA, excluding the UK and (b) non-EEA countries who are (i) doctors, (ii) dentists, (iii) other dental care professionals and (iv) nurses have been (A) suspended and (B) brought before a fitness to practise panel by their professional regulator as a result of poor English language skills in the last three years.

Ben Gummer: The information requested is not held by the Department. The nine health and care professional regulatory bodies within the United Kingdom are responsible for operational matters concerning the discharge of their statutory duties including fitness-to-practise (FtP) investigations against their registrants. Relevant information provided by the General Medical Council (GMC), Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) and General Dental Council (GDC) is included below. The GMC reports that four European Economic Area (EEA) doctors and no non-EEA doctors have appeared at a FtP tribunal and been suspended due wholly or partly to lack of English language skills, since its legislation changed in June 2014 to introduce inadequate English language skills as a grounds for finding a doctor’s fitness to practise is impaired. In addition, since the GMC was given new powers in relation to the language skills of doctors, it has dealt with 3,289 registration applications from EEA doctors. 1,970 of them were able to demonstrate that they met the English language requirements as part of their application and were granted registration with a licence to practise. 1,319 doctors were registered but have not been granted a licence to practise either because they did not provide any evidence of their English language skills or the evidence they provided was insufficient. Doctors cannot practise in the UK without a licence to practise. The NMC reports that until legislative change took effect in January 2016, it did not record poor English language skills as a case type within FtP. Previously all cases were recorded under an umbrella category of ‘Lack of competence – communication issues’. This category covered a range of communication topics including failure to delegate appropriately. Since the new language control power was introduced in 2016 the NMC has been coding English language skills as a separate code. The GDC reports that following an update to its Standards in 2013, it takes the requirement to be sufficiently fluent in written and spoken English into account when assessing FtP cases. Since this change there have been no suspensions and one EEA Dentist has been struck-off the GDC register where the category of ‘not fluent in English’ was recorded as a consideration. The GDC notes that as a result of recent legislative change, it is taking forward associated changes to registration processes and FtP rules, which will result in further language control requirements being introduced by the end of summer.

Department of Health: Training

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the cost was of residential training for officials in his Department in each of the last five years.

Jane Ellison: The Department is committed to developing its staff and equipping them with the skills and knowledge to carry out their work. In 2011, the Department became a full subscriber to Civil Service Learning (CSL). CSL is responsible for providing a managed service for all learning and development across the Civil Service. Learning and development activity is typically arranged by individual teams or individuals in the Department. Therefore, no central records of these events are kept. To collect this information from the Department’s directorates and match this with CSL data would incur disproportionate costs.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent on child and adolescent mental health services in (a) England, (b) London, (c) each London boroughs and (d) each London health trust in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: The information is not available in the format requested. The following table presents the available information which is taken from reference costs - the average unit cost to National Health Service trusts and foundation trusts of providing defined services to NHS patients. Estimated costs to NHS trusts and foundation trusts1 of providing child and adolescent mental health services2, 2010-11 to 2014-15 Name2010-112011-122012-132013-142014-15England371.0450.2486.7539.4611.6London104.9118.3112.2133.5135.3Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust4.114.211.012.711.4Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust14.913.214.018.116.6East London NHS Foundation Trust11.714.712.917.517.2Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust---0.60.6Hounslow and Richmond Community Healthcare NHS Trust-0.3---Islington Primary Care Trust4.1----North East London NHS Foundation Trust14.516.313.117.115.7North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust0.20.30.30.30.3Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust9.37.66.97.07.6Richmond and Twickenham Primary Care Trust0.2----Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust1.01.61.92.30.6South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust22.427.226.830.729.4South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust9.88.58.610.711.9Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust6.25.95.04.910.4The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust-5.92.75.23.6West London Mental Health NHS Trust6.62.69.06.310.1 Source: Reference costs, Department of Health Notes:Reference costs were also collected from primary care trusts before 2011-12, after which they transferred their provider functions. Primary care trusts were abolished on 31 March 2013.The costs of providing child and adolescent mental health services in admitted, day care, outpatient and community settings for children and young people who have difficulties with their emotional or behavioural wellbeing are included. The costs of providing other specialist services to children and young people, such as drug and alcohol, or eating disorder services, are excluded.It is not possible to provide the information by London borough.

Obesity: Children

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the childhood obesity strategy will be published before 23 June 2016.

Jane Ellison: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 February 2016 to Question 24826

Hospices: Children

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the grants available for children's hospices will continue to be paid to them through NHS England.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans he has for the children's hospices grant beyond 2016; and if he will make a statement.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the effect of the palliative care currency will be on statutory funding for children's hospices.

Ben Gummer: NHS England is responsible for the annual grant to children’s hospices and for determining how it will be allocated each year. The palliative care currency is designed to provide a basis for local commissioning discussions, by clearly identifying the costs of care. The currency is being tested by NHS England locally, to ensure it makes sense to commissioners and providers, and the results will be published later in the year. The intention is that there will be an appropriate transition to local commissioning of children’s hospices, but they have pledged to continue the grant until a sustainable alternative means of local funding is in effect.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent in (a) cash and (b) real terms on child and adolescent mental health services per young person in (i) England, (ii) London, (iii) each London borough and (iv) each London health trust in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: NHS England is responsible for commissioning health care services in England. However, it does not currently monitor mental health spend on individual programmes such as for children and adolescents’ mental health. This level of details is being collected in financial plans for 2016-17 and NHS England has processes in place to monitor spend at this level going forward.

Mental Health Services: Children

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the five disorders most commonly identified by Child and Mental Health services were in (a) England, (b) London, (c) London boroughs and (d) London health trusts in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: This information is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services: Young People

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many young people were registered with Child and Mental Health services in (a) England, (b) London, (c) each London borough and (d) each London health trust on 1 January of each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: This information is not held centrally.

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many referrals there were to Child and Mental Health services in (a) England, (b) each London borough and (c) each health trust in London in each year since 2010.

Alistair Burt: This information is not held centrally.

HIV Infection: Screening

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department's policy is on routine HIV screening in (a) high-prevalence geographical areas and (b) specific high-risk populations.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when the UK National Screening Committee plans to publish an updated recommendation on HIV screening in pregnancy.

Jane Ellison: Evidence for HIV screening in pregnancy is kept under constant review. Section 5.3 of the UK National Screening Committee’s evidence review process sets out how reviews are undertaken in light of new evidence. The review process can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-nsc-evidence-review-process/uk-nsc-evidence-review-process HIV testing guidelines, published by the British HIV Association and other professional organisations, and endorsed by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence, recommend the routine offer of an HIV test to all patients attending general medical services including hospital admissions and new patient registrations in general practice, in areas where the adult diagnosed HIV prevalence is two or more per 1,000. Public Health England advise men who have sex with men have an HIV test at least annually and every three months if having unprotected sex with new or casual partners and that black African men and women test for HIV if having unprotected sex with new or casual partners.

Health Services: Shipping

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many non-EEA seafarers employed on UK registered ships received non-emergency care from the NHS in England in each year since 2009-10.

Alistair Burt: The Department does not hold this information.

Pharmacy

Paula Sherriff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will make an assessment of the effect on patient care and safety of planned reductions in NHS funding for community pharmacies.

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment he has made of the effect of changes in funding for community pharmacies on the provision of pharmacy services; and what steps he is taking to ensure that busy community pharmacists are not forced to reduce their services.

Alistair Burt: Community pharmacy is a vital part of the National Health Service and can play an even greater role. In the Spending Review the Government re-affirmed the need for the NHS to deliver £22 billion in efficiency savings by 2020/21 as set out in the NHS’s own plan, the Five Year Forward View. Community pharmacy is a core part of NHS primary care and has an important contribution to make as the NHS rises to these challenges. The Government believes efficiencies can be made without compromising the quality of services or public access to them. Our aim is to ensure that those community pharmacies upon which people depend continue to thrive and so we are consulting on the introduction of a Pharmacy Access Scheme, which will provide more NHS funds to certain pharmacies compared to others, considering factors such as location and the health needs of the local population. The Government’s vision is for a more efficient, modern system that will free up pharmacists to spend more time delivering clinical and public health services to the benefit of patients and the public. We are consulting the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, other pharmacy bodies and patient and public representatives on our proposals.

Parkinson's Disease

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when NICE plans to issue a consultation on a draft update to its guideline on Parkinson's disease.

George Freeman: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence currently expects to consult on its draft updated clinical guideline on Parkinson’s disease between 4 October 2016 and 15 November 2016. The anticipated publication date for the updated guideline is April 2017.Further information is available at: www.nice.org.uk/guidance/indevelopment/gid-cgwave0698

NHS England: Deloitte

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20663, what the end date is of the contract awarded to Deloitte to support NHS England in the development of clinical commissioning policies.

George Freeman: There is no set end date to the contract. The contract will end once the programme of agreed work is complete, which should be in early summer.

NHS England: Deloitte

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 5 January 2016 to Question 20663, how many clinical commissioning policies Deloitte is involved in supporting under the terms of the contract awarded by NHS England.

George Freeman: NHS England is working with Deloitte and its clinical reference groups in developing a number of policies.

Mental Health Services: Children and  Young People

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children and young people were referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in each local authority in each of the last eight quarters for which figures are available.

Alistair Burt: This information is not currently collected.

Mental Health Services: Children and  Young People

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children and young people have been referred to Tier 2 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: We do not hold this information centrally.

Mental Health Services: Children and  Young People

Ms Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many children and young people have been referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in each clinical commissioning group area in each quarter since April 2013.

Alistair Burt: We do not hold this information centrally.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, when he plans that all eligible individuals will have been invited to participate in the NHS Bowel Scope Screening Programme.

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, (a) how many people and (b) what proportion of the eligible population have been invited to participate in the NHS Bowel Scope Screening Programme by screening centre in each year since that programme was launched.

Jane Ellison: Bowel Scope Screening is currently offered in 48 out of 63 screening units with 25% of all general practitioner practices in England engaging with bowel scope. All screening centres are expected to go live in 2016 and it is hoped that full roll out of bowel scope screening will be achieved by 2019. The annual population eligible for screening (55 year olds) is approximately 780,000 across all screening centres. This data come from the counts of people turning 55 each year. Data on screening centres offering bowel scope screening is currently unavailable due to deductive disclosure; however the programme is looking to publish the data as soon as possible.

Mental Health Services: Children and  Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many people (a) under and (b) over 18 received support from child and adolescent mental health services in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: We do not hold this information centrally.

NHS: Management Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what the total NHS spend on contracted work by (a) McKinsey, (b) PA Consulting, (c) Deloitte LLP and (d) GE Healthcare Finnamore was in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The below table outlines the total spend on the listed consultancies in the past three years. Between them, these consultancies provide a variety of services including developing policies, supporting service reviews and supporting New Models of Care programmes.   Sum Total invoice amount (£)2013/142014/152015/16Grand TotalDeloitte LLP5,347,5026,187,1845,826,71117,361,396GE Healthcare FinnamoreN/A75,960111,114187,074Mckinsey & Co1,002,018932,866N/A1,934,884PA Consulting Services LTD1,406,8581,516,5254,127,5957,050,978Grand Total7,756,3788,712,53410,065,42026,534,332

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust: Agency Nurses

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has reported that its planned agency nursing spend in 2015-16 will exceed the ceiling trajectory set by Monitor.

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust's nursing cost is forecast to be spent on agency staff in 2015-16.

Alistair Burt: The information requested is not centrally held. We understand that the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust's Board considered the issue of expenditure on agency nursing staff at its meeting on 17 January 2016. Papers for that meeting are available at the following link: http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/files.royalfree.nhs.uk/Trust_board_papers/Trust_board_meeting_(public)_combined_27_Jan_2016.pdf We are advised that Monitor wrote to the trust, confirming that by March 2016, agency nursing staff should not account for more than 9.8% of its total expenditure on nursing staff.

Clinical Commissioning Groups

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 February 2016 to Question 24390, if he will list those clinical commissioning groups which had (a) planned and (b) actual overspends in (i) 2013-14 and (ii) 2014-15 and (c) have such overspends in 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: Owing to the length of the data requested, quarterly information on Clinical Commissioning Spend, including planned and actual overspends, can be found here: https://www.england.nhs.uk/publications/financial-performance-reports/

Kettering Hospital

Mr Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what stage the funding application by Kettering General Hospital for a new on-site urgent care hub has reached; and if he will accelerate the approval process for that application.

Alistair Burt: Monitor has confirmed that it has now received the Kettering General Hospital Trust’s Outline Business Case seeking approval for consultancy spend to progress the development of an Urgent Care Hub.

Mental Health Services: Ethnic Groups

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to improve the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme outcomes for the BAME population.

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme recovery rate reaches 50 per cent by March 2016.

Alistair Burt: NHS England (NHSE) monitors clinical commissioning groups’ (CCGs) performance against the recovery target for people who have received psychological therapies through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. In October 2015, 77 CCGs met the 50% Recovery Standard. The Department is working closely with NHSE to reduce the variation in recovery rates across CCG areas. NHSE is also supporting lowest performing IAPT providers to improve their recovery rates and is offering workshops to spread good practice to all commissioners and providers. The Government is aware of evidence that shows that people from Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) communities are less likely to use psychological therapies. There is ongoing activity by NHSE in collaboration with the Department to encourage access to IAPT services by the under-represented groups. A BAME benchmarking tool has been developed and is currently being piloted by a number of IAPT services. This will assist services to improve access to people from BAME communities by helping those services understand the ethnicity of the population and whether this is reflected within the population they see. It asks services to assess whether outcomes for BAME communities are equivalent to non-BAME patients whilst also checking whether improvements for access to people from BAME communities have been made and specific training for therapists have been utilised. Once pilots are complete NHS England will publish the benchmarking tool for all services to access. Equality of access is an issue for wider mental health services and that is why the Mental Health Partnership Board is considering the issues around equality of access in mental health services, which includes the IAPT programme. The Health and Social Care Information Centre publish referrals and outcomes data by ethnic groups. NHSE intends to compare those numbers with BAME prevalence population data to highlight referrals and access rates for ethnic groups at CCG level. CCGs are responsible for taking the necessary actions to address any disparity.

Health Professions: Mental Health

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take to improve the support available to mental health professionals to manage their own mental health.

Alistair Burt: Regular clinical supervision with an experienced and trained supervisor has been shown to ameliorate the negative impact of therapeutic work on the health and well-being of therapeutic staff. Guidance on the Principles of Supervision for an IAPT Service recognises the importance of clinical supervision in this regard and recommends one hour of clinical supervision with an experienced trained supervisor per week.

Mental Health Services: Children and  Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many qualified counsellors worked in child and adult mental health services in each of the last three years.

Alistair Burt: This information is not held centrally.

Offences against Children

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps his Department has taken to prioritise therapeutic services for children who have suffered abuse.

Alistair Burt: The Government is committed to delivering the vision set out in the Future in mind report and is driving forward the transformation of children and young people’s mental health services to improve access to high quality support across the country. This transformation is being supported by £1.25 billion of additional Government investment, as well as an extra £150 million to help young people with eating disorders. Local Transformation Plans (LTPs) will set out how local organisations will use the additional investment of £1.4 billion the Government is making available during the course of this Parliament to transform local Child and Adolescent Mental Health services. All clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), working closely with their partners in local government, Children’s Services and education, have developed plans to transform their local offer. These plans cover the full spectrum of mental health issues: from prevention and resilience building, to support and care for existing and emerging mental health problems, as well as transitions between services and addressing the needs of the most vulnerable. This includes those who have been exposed to sexual abuse or exploitation. Decisions on access to services are based on assessment of clinical need. NHS England increased funding of sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) from £8.98 million in 2013/14 to £16.5 million in 2014/15, especially to improve the paediatric response to the needs of sexually abused children. NHS England continues to make the health services response to sexual abuse a priority, and in addition to producing a five year plan for commissioning SARCs, they are planning to engage with CCGs on the delivery of therapeutic care to support survivors. The Government has set up the first ever cross-Government Ministerial Child Protection Taskforce to overhaul the way police, schools, social services and others work together in tackling abuse of children. The Taskforce’s work will build on the Government’s wide-ranging reforms to create a care system that puts children’s needs first.

Thyroid Gland: Diseases

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he plans to take in response to increases in the cost to the NHS of Liothyronine; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The Government’s policy on generic medicines is to allow manufacturers freedom of pricing for their products, relying on competition to deliver value for money. Any potential pricing abuses are a matter for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The Department is in regular contact with the CMA.